Article by Christian Peregin in the Sunday Times of Malta, 18 June 2013
Three months have passed since Labour was elected to power after a long period in opposition.Christian Peregin speaks to analysts to see what they are making of the situation.
If you thought a change in Government would bring the economy to a halt and spark street violence, the past 100 days have proven you wrong.
But if you thought Labour was so well-prepared for Government that it would change the country overnight, you were also sorely mistaken.
“It reminds me of an infant starting to walk,” says former editor of The Sunday Times of Malta Laurence Grech.
“They will tumble, fall, and commit mistakes but eventually I hope they will find their feet. The fact they have been out of power for almost 25 years has a bearing on this,” he says.
The Government has certainly given a fresh push to some sectors that were neglected by the previous administration.
Transgender people have been given the right to marry – a move that prompted the Nationalist Party to apologise to people like Joanne Cassar who were insensitively treated by the last Government. Meanwhile, civil unions are in the pipeline, with a Consultative Council already drawing up a law.
Developers are also ecstatic over the reduction in planning fees and the revised Global Residence Scheme that is expected to boost the industry. The Government’s energy plan is also moving rapidly, with 11 bidders already shortlisted for the project.
“Another good point has been the series of meetings with the public being conducted by ministers,” adds Mr Grech, recalling similar initiatives by Nationalist administrations.
However, there has also been a chorus of disapproval over many of the initial decisions taken by the Government – primarily the appointments given to PN dissenters and people who helped the party, as Mr Grech points out.
“People in top positions should be ideologically close to the Government, but I also believe in meritocracy,” says former Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Michael Briguglio.
He says there have been “many mistakes” on this level, especially in the cultural sector.
Although he is happy with some of the educational reforms under way, Dr Briguglio is not impressed by the “field day” being given to big developers, some of whom have even been seen sitting at press conference tables with ministers.
“I would say Malta Tagħna Lkoll was a problematic slogan. In politics, you always have to take a stand and you always have adversaries,” he says.
Former PN candidate Mark Anthony Sammut says one of the Government’s best moves so far was the push given to reforming the justice system.
However, he thinks the “blatant” rewards being given to people who helped the Labour Party, as well as the seeming disregard of the Code of Ethics for ministers and parliamentary secretaries, have soured the Government’s performance immensely.
“If one of these things happened under the previous Nationalist Government, it would have been massacred,” he says.
He was also disappointed by the removal of most permanent secretaries who are not mean to be sacked with a change in Government.
Mr Sammut believes the Government was strategic in its actions, knowing most of its initial decisions would be long forgotten by the next election.
“The problem is that they have now instilled a culture of payback,” he says.
Political observer Godfrey Grima – who had endorsed Joseph Muscat for Labour leadership – is much happier with the Government’s performance, though he says it is still too early to judge.
He says there have been “hiccups”, such as the controversy surrounding Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca’s waiver from the Code of Ethics and the transfers seen at St Vincent De Paul.
“But I think they were misunderstandings,” he says.
He believes the Government had shown itself to be “cautious” as well as hardworking.
“We have a Prime Minister with a good sense of balance,” he says, downplaying the controversial appointments by highlighting the varied board members chosen for Air Malta.
On the contrary, he says, Dr Muscat is instilling a sense of national unity and is not out for his pound of flesh.
Carmen Sammut, the chairwoman of Labour’s think-tank Ideat, believes the Government is still in its honeymoon period.
While some ministers who had a bit of experience or technical preparation were able to hit the ground running, others suffered.
“There is an element of inexperience. After a quarter of a century, there is now a new generation of people in Cabinet and working around them. I think some of the mistakes can be attributed to this, and hopefully the glitches will be ironed out in the coming months and years.”
She said the case of Mr Mercieca was badly handled, and before that there was the case of Godfrey Farrugia appointing his partner Marlene Farrugia to help him at the Health Ministry.
On the plus side, she is positive about the appointments made at the State broadcaster, PBS, as well as the new thrust given to civil liberties.
She says the Government will find it difficult to please all Labour supporters who had very high expectations but has probably managed to relieve PN supporters since all the pre-electoral scaremongering did not amount to much.
“The moderate majority that is still assessing the situation and will decide when the honeymoon period is over,” she says.
Comments
Post a Comment