In my childhood Santa Lucia meant a visit to an uncle of mine. Wikipedia tells me that the village was named after a 16th Century chapel in the vicinity, which is quite extraordinary given how that particular century kept cropping up as I ‘researched’ the background behind my ideas for this post.
The village is really a 20th century invention – ta’ Mintoff, some would say. An idea of a neatly laid out village snuggled between Luqa and Tarxien underneath the Addolorata Cemetery. In my mind I associate Santa Lucia with Mintoffian street furniture – stone benches, planters and some greenery – and an idea of a centre where one would find a grocer, a butcher and some other amenities put together. The village houses that I remember had their front parapets with some greenery.
Santa Lucia’s streets are colourfully given the name of flowers and trees, From Vjal l-Oleandri to Narcis, Petunja, Vjol, Znuber, Rand, Bruka, Iris, Ibisku to Stefanotis – the idea behind a green modern civic centre was there all right. It was a social experiment that to an extent had worked. Lining the village to the north is the Chinese Garden of Serenity. Described in this way Santa Lucia is definitely an oasis of green idealism far from the destructive obsessions that we are used to today.
Santa Lucia – Ville Fleurie
Saints, Cemeteries and Blind Justice
Ian Borg’s latest pet project – the one where he claims to have consulted and not heard any response – involves the massacre of a green part of Santa Lucia (and a jogging track). The cemetery has shifted closer within the confines of the village but instead of the souls at the Addolorata (sorrows) we have the sorrowful sight of hundreds of trees being axed in the name of the God of Vehicles and Progress. A vox pop on Maltatoday clearly showed the anxious confusion of the Santa Lucia residents who on the one hand are loath to criticise anything the government of the tattoed undefeated decides to do while on the other they are visibly shaken by the loss of their immediate green surroundings.
There seems to be no justice when opposing such horrible developments. Blind justice seems to peek through her bandages and always, inevitably sides with the developer, the permit seeker and the tree-slayer. Civil society is reduced to holding wakes for the dying after belatedly realising that the justice’s blindness was rigged. Santa Lucia, the village named after a 16th century chapel will be raped in the name of progress – against the inner will of its citizens but to the sound of much acclaim for this government that privileges development above all.
A blindness acquired
Now to a serendipitous series of uncanny coincidences that I came across prompted by the fact that two figures in this modern fable seem to be associated with “blindness” of sorts. Saint Lucy, to begin with. Lucy hailed from nearby Syracuse and was a great devotee of Saint Agatha (one of Malta’s trilogy of patron saints). To cut a long story short, Lucy died a martyr, refusing to renounce her religion. “The Christian tradition states that when the guards came to take her away, they could not move her even when they hitched her to a team of oxen. Bundles of wood were then heaped about her and set on fire, but would not burn. Finally, she met her death by the sword thrust into her throat.” (Wikipedia)
What is absent from Christian tradition – at least not until the 16th century – is any mention of the eye-gouging with which Saint Lucy is associated nowadays.
Which brings me to Lady Justice. The image of Blind Justice is imprinted in our collective minds. The “blindness” is really a blindfoldedJustice and the reason for it is to guarantee impartiality – justice is applied without regard to wealth, power or status (or it should be). Other symbols are normally to be found around images or statues of Justice. Most common of all are the scales of justice – they have been around since depictions by the Egyptians. The Ancient Book of Death depicts a scales in which a heart is balanced by a feather of truth. Justice is often seen carrying a sword that represents the authority of swift and final justice. Sometimes the sword is replaced by a book representing the law.
But back to the blindfold. I was extremely surprised to find out that early depictions of justice never included it. The Greek Themis and Roman Justitia had their eyes uncovered. It is only since the 16th century that justice has been depicted wearing a blindfold. The first known representation of blind Justice is Hans Gieng’s 1543 statue on the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) in Berne.
So there you have it. That chapel that gave its name to the 20th century village of Santa Lucia dates from the 16th century. That’s the century when Lucy “lost” her eyes and Justice “gained” her blindfold. In the 21st century, the village of the streets of flowers and trees is losing its greenery. Justice seems to be looking the other way and the only blindness that is apparent is among the citizens who find it hard to criticise the decision-makers… even if their own quality of life is at stake.
Il-proġett li se jeqred 48,000 metru kwadru ta’ art agrikola, joqtol iktar minn 600 siġra, jiżola 1,200 ruħ u jkeċċi 47 bidwi – filwaqt li ma jsolvi assolutament xejn -għadu kemm għadda mill-Bord tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar bi 3 vota kontra u 9 favur.
Moviment Graffitti react to PA vote
Mad dogs and artists
Seven. That’s seven football fields worth of agricultural land. They are being frittered away in order to purportedly give way to a more fluid transport situation. Cars have to move apparently. To do so 600 trees have to die. Forget about replanting and make no mistake about it. The trees will die. There will be less trees, more tarmac and if the artists’ impression is anything to go by two parallel high walls locking the cars in their smog driven ecstasy of a trip.
The artists’ impresssion also includes a madman walking his dog on a superhighway of a pavement. No billboards or lamposts feature in this impression but then again the impression is only there to give some form of ‘substance’ for the ‘visionaries’ backing Ian Borg’s latest transport brainwave. According to the twitter reactions by the idiot savants who trumpet Borg’s cause, the people will soon forget the minor inconvenience of environmental armageddon once they gain their 5 extra seconds on their commute to Saqajja.
#thesystemisbroken (reprise)
The guys at Moviment Graffitti are rightly taking up the challenge. They speak of encouragement because residents, environmentalists and farmers got together to argue against the development. The arguments, they say, were rock solid and unquestionable. The problem is that the Planning Authority – a regulator that should be acting in the interests of the people voted in the large part in favour of the road – they call it the Central Link.
Unlike what happened in the case of the Marsa Racetrack development where the PN barely lifted an eyelid, it would seem that the PN rep on the PA board voted against the development. The other two votes against came from an NGO and from an Attard councillor. Still, votes against notwithstanding, the system remains heavily rigged in favour of a party in government that has no qualms about bulldozering over the real public interest.
It should already be shocking that the distribution of positions on such boards has to take into consideration a form of par condicio for the two parties. Instead of experts in the field acting on a clear policy remit we have party interests represented. Add to that the blatant interest of strong lobbies such as the construction and development lobby paired with a state captured in their interests and you will begin to understand how the backsliding of the rule of law in this particular quarter is having its undesirable effects.
Steve Bonello – Soon to become history… This iconic farmhouse in the area known as Taht ir-Rahal in Attard is set to be demolished as part of the Central Link Project which has just been approved by that criminal organisation otherwise known as the Planning Authority.
A Republic based on Automobiles
Public transport policy and the general management of cars is a farce. An island that should be aiming to reduce cars to the bare minimum instead plans and builds around the dreaded automobile. Proper public transport is shunned for the exaltation of the private vehicle. More roads, more tarmac, more development.
Don’t forget more petrol stations too. This notwithstanding the lip service paid to a supposed target date for going electric. There is really no way out. Today’s lesson is that the livelihood of 47 farmers is of no consequence to policy makers and shapers so long as cars will supposedly shave a couple of seconds of their commute (which they will not).
What about the trees? 600 of them. The “replanting” lie has not yet been put paid but the more it gets exposed the harder it gets to use it next time. If there is a next time of course.
Ezekiel 25:17
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the Inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious Anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee
Unfortunately the battles that need to be fought by the likes of Moviment Graffitti are twice as hard because the system is rigged against them. Where equity, justice and common sense should apply there is a state capture of gargantuan proportions led by the corrupt and the selfish. It is time to transform the multiple minor skirmishes into the full battle on all fronts that leads to systemic change.
It’s either that or continue down the road to perdition.
perdition/pəˈdɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
(in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unrepentant person passes after death.
Luxembourg’s PM Xavier Bettel was criticized this week for his decision not to attend a farewell dinner for Simona Frankel, the Israeli ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg. Reports in the Israeli and Luxembourg press suggested that Bettel declined the invitation to the dinner in Brussels because of the support for gay conversion therapy by Israeli education minister Rafi Peretz.
Bettel is the PM many would dream of having. Europe’s first openly gay and married PM, he was confirmed for a second term in 2018. During a recent summit in February between EU and Arab states he took Arab leaders to task over the repression of gay-rights. Bettel’s politics is definitely not limited to the LGBT agenda and extends to strong programmes of integration and inclusivity, solid economic planning and a progressive environmental policy.
This week Bettel will be
receiving Malta’s PM Joseph Muscat. Muscat and his government love to trumpet
their achievements on paper regarding LGBT rights in Malta – achievements that
rocketed Malta to the forefront of states endorsing gay rights. The sincerity
of Muscat’s government though leaves much to be desired; one could safely say
that to a large extent his is an exercise at pinkwashing.
The way the corpus of gay
legislation gets bandied about in Malta’s defence against the criticisms on
rule of law backsliding in international institutions does leave a sour taste about
it all. You get that lasting suspicion that citizen rights is the last thing on
Muscat and his governments’ mind.
Bettel will understandably not refuse to meet a fellow EU leader. A few strong words regarding the rule of law backsliding would be most welcome though. After all, Muscat’s weakening of regulatory bodies and his golden passport scheme are a direct threat to all the partners in the European Union – Luxembourg included. Bettel should not let Muscat’s pink mask dazzle him away from the real problems. The danger of the weak back door entry into Europe can no longer afford to be ignored.
Muscat the disgraced
Muscat’s visit in one of his
first visits on the continent since failing to clinch one of the top EU jobs at
the last EU council meeting. Muscat had made no secret of having coveted one of
the jobs available at the latest musical chairs in Europe but left Brussels
empty-handed. That night of negotiations, Muscat’s communications aide
retweeted that the Maltese PM had been very close to becoming European Council
President – a claim that was later denied by political assistants and
journalists present in Brussels.
Muscat’s fall from potential new
star on the European block to toxic candidate has spiralled quickly ever since
he chose to stand full square behind Minister Konrad Mizzi and right-hand man
Keith Schembri – both heavily implicated in the Panama Papers scandal. Unlike
other politicians around the world, from Iceland to Pakistan to Brazil, the
Muscat led-government refused to accept any responsibility for whatever proof
was forwarded with regard to possible networks of corruption.
Matters were not made easier for
Muscat with the assassination of prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
At the time of her death the journalist had been turned into a pariah thanks to
a veritable “witch-hunt” encouraged amongst others by Muscat’s party machine.
Caruana Galizia had faced a long list of economically crippling libel suits yet
persisted in uncovering scandal after scandal in areas such as public
procurement, sale of public assets, sale of passports and the aforementioned Panama
Papers scandal.
The journalist’s assassination
brought international attention to what had hitherto been a local scenario. Report
after report by leading European institutions was published that warned about
weak rule of law mechanisms, and the concentration of power in the Prime
Minister’s hands. In this context, concerns were expressed on the lack of
progress on the investigation into the journalist’s death.
Only this month, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved a report on the
investigation into the assassination of Caruana Galizia and the rule of law in
Malta with an overwhelming majority. It concluded that the situation in the
country was so serious it put the whole of Europe at risk. Civil society in the
country has been mobilized. Attempts to commemorate Daphne Caruana Galizia and
renew calls for justice are constantly thwarted by the Government in the guise
of Justice Minister Owen Bonnici.
Muscat’s government sends out
contradictory and unconvincing messages of an intention to reform while at the
same time refusing to assume any responsibility for the backsliding of the rule
of law. Government critics are labelled as traitors of the nation, supposedly
because they are attempting to undermine Muscat’s economic miracle that, his
government claims, makes Malta “the Best in Europe”. Bolstered by regular
positive results from ratings companies, Muscat manages to use the “economic
miracle” mantra to hide the obvious faults in the institutional set-up of the
nation.
The latest challenge by civil
society opposition is in the Maltese courts – a direct challenge to the method
of appointment of the judiciary in Malta. Taking their cue from recent
developments in Poland and Hungary, the civil society activists are requesting
a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to have the
method of appointment of the judiciary thoroughly examined. The judiciary
remains the last institution that risks falling to a complete state capture –
in a nation where meritocracy is just a by-word for “jobs for the boys”.
Malta’s PM continues to dodge calls for a public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia following the Council of Europe resolution. Under Muscat, Malta has quickly shifted from star performer to the sick soft underbelly of Europe with weakened administrative and monitoring authorities meaning an open backdoor into the European Union for all sorts of shifty business.
Raphael Vassallo dedicated his latest opinion column on Saviour Balzan’s portal to what purports to be an analysis of the last post on this blog – The PN must die. Preliminary remarks are in order before tackling the actual content of the column. It would seem that Raphael fell from the sky and suddenly discovered this blog and blogging for the first time. The spectre of that great risk of acknowledging another opinion and its value runs throughout the piece – typical of political engagement nowadays. J’accuse is used to that.
Ah yes, J’accuse. That’s the name of the blog Raphael. I’m sure you know that – we go far back (practically from the start), – the truth if I lie. One important part of the propaganda rule-book nowadays is of course the “shoot the messenger” chapter and nothing works more than attempting to belittle the source. Still, it’s not as though J’accuse is for your eyes only Raphael, it’s been part of the local opinion forum for quite a while now – maybe less frequently lately but still there quietly making its mark when needed.
One last thing on a formal level. It overlaps with content but it’s biggie. The “former nationalists”, “people like Jacques” boxing in. Really Raphael? I’d have hoped to never have to say never again but here we are in 2019 – fourteen years since this blog saw the (living) daylight and we are still confronted with that yawn-inducing argument of having a political party affiliation thrown at us. You almost made me think of my tiffs with Daphne there. Almost of course, because that was a wholly different league. It’s not worth a reply – just pointing out the ridiculous levels to which you descended in order to prop a weak argument.
J’accuse the “former nationalist” will be added to the long line of other masks attributed to me over the years including “the labourite”, the “AD activist” the “liberal” and the “Luxembourger who smells of Gozo cheese” (that was another Vassallo). Lastly, I do no think I should bother with whatever Daily Mail inspired trash led Raphael to play the “cushy Euro jobs” card. We are not here on His Majesty the Kink’s Service but there are probably other cushy jobs that deserve investigative journalists’ attention – much closer to home.
Allow me to start with the end. Raphael got the gist of the argument wrong. His assessment is quite alright insofar as it looks into the issue of the “PN dying”. We may agree or disagree whether it will be a natural death or a euthanasia sped up by circumstances. Whether the PN will die today or another day is an issue and conundrum that forms part of the disquisitions tied directly to playing the game as it stands – within the confines of the rules and expectations of these times.
My argument is completely extricable from the current operating system and as such does not and will not take into consideration the existence and aim of current factions within the PN insofar as their ultimate concern is gaining control of the party as is and resetting it to function within the current system. Therein lies the huge difference.
This was an article about the PN but could have very well been (and there will definitely one day be one) an article about how the PL must die. “The PN’ and “The PL” are much more than the physical parties and institutions that occasionally face internal struggles that cause them to slightly reset. As I have already tried to explain they are also the two parties around which the Constitution and our whole institutional, political and social mindset have been set.
The PN that must die is that PN that is still willing to own and participate in this systemic set-up. That PN is dangerous just as much as the current PL is dangerous. They are both machines created to feed on and abuse the system. Unless that point is grasped then all other parts of the assumptions made by Raphael are useless or, if useful, then they are useful only to prop up a part in the struggle that accepts the constitutional status quo.
Outside the PLPN there is a civil society that is slowly but surely growing stronger. In spite of attempts at denigration (“dwindle to roughly the size of those monthly gatherings at the Great Siege Monument in Valletta”) that are to be expected from those who defend the status quo, civil society is increasingly becoming aware of the importance of systemic change.
It is a slow transformation. The calls for focusing on the Rule of Law found a tough soil to land on and grow. That was because the problem was technical to explain and had no immediate tangible effects for the man in the street. What happened later down the line though is the real eye opener. The sudden construction crisis led to another growing section of civil society becoming more and more vociferous and demanding accountability. Tangibility of the problems led to more direct action.
The environment, the socio-economic gaps and health issues coupled with disastrous urban planning might soon overtake the purely financial corruption problems which are less easily identified by citizens. The Applegren Effect works wonders because it is immediate, tangible and begins to rock the waters. Moviment Graffitti have brought feet to the ground and given shape to citizen discontent. Meanwhile the heritage from the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is also making headway in the form of different organisations, such as Occupy Justice.
In all of this, the PN is in its death throes. Talk of refounding and rebuilding is good. It is better if it challenges the main problem head on: that the PN must denounce its current shape and form as main participant and cause of the denaturation of our Constitution. That is why a new PN must be very very new. Away from the mindset that seeks to preserve the old.
Is it about destruction? Raphael imputes the destructive wishes to a faction of the PN. Destruction though is happening at a higher level. The backsliding of the rule of law is a sign of systemic implosion. You either don’t see it because you don’t understand or you don’t see it because you don’t want to believe it’s there.
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space, But when your return, it’s the same old place, The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace, You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace, Hate your next door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace, And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend, You don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.
(Eve of Destruction, Barry McGuire)
Raphael speaks of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu and he could very well have quoted the Beastie Boys (it takes a second to wreck it). I am very aware that a destroyed PN leaves a vacuum that needs to be filled. Even from my cushy seat in the EU (I wonder whether Raphael ever asked himself why I need bother about Malta if my seat is so cushy – he might find an answer there) I know that this is the case.
Malta is in need of a huge constitutional change. The deaths of the PLPN behemoths would only be a prelude for that. We are in dire need of a reform of parliament, executive, judiciary and of the constituted bodies. Muscat’s government is edging its way to a one-sided reform that will be the King fashioning a nation in his image. That is where the danger lies. The current PN leadership is in danger of becoming a prop to this governments machinations – just see the latest land deals that zipped through parliament without a whimper from the PN.
As a political observer my instinct would tell me that a vacuum left by the PN could be filled by a movement. A movement of and for change. Experience has shown us that the current political scenario has led to a situation where few are reluctant to lead that movement. Internal mistrust and imputation of agendas among civil society does the rest to kill off any impetus.
The movement of change should be one above factions and above the current system and its workings. Unfortunately, as we have seen, unless this change is provoked by an even worse crisis we will remain in the vicious circle of PLPN alternation. The outcome of the factional disputes within the PN (and within the PL but that seems to have been postponed for a while thanks to Muscat’s failure in Europe) will be simply a resetting within the system that is pushing us all on the brink of destruction.
Predicting that the PN will die is easy, advocating for the change that counts is not. Raphael is right on one point: the potential leaders for change out there should be making their voice heard not working in the background.
The weeks of long knives at the PN HQ have just been put in temporary suspension as an apparent reprieve has been found. ‘Party stalwart’ Louis Galea described as the man who transformed the PN into a ‘slick political machine’ between 1977 and 1987 has been appointed as AZAD Head and given the mission to reform the PN. Here is how the Times of Malta reports the former member of the European Court of Auditors when explaining his mission :
La Cavalleria Rusticana
Dr Galea said he had several meetings with Dr Delia before Thursday’s meeting of the executive and had discussed various ideas. He would now lead a reform process which would include all those within the party and the country who wished to help so that the PN could stand on its own feet. This, he said, was in the interests not just of supporters, but the country as a whole.
Times of Malta, Louis Galea appointed head of PN Think-Tank, 5th July 2019
The reform is apparently motivated by the needs of the party to “stand on its own feet“. What comes next will blow your mind (as the click-bait peddlers are wont to proclaim nowadays): The PN needs to stand on its own feet in the interests of its supporters and of the country. Which is the kind of reasoning that normally precedes the launching of a floating device up a narrow sheltered waterway filled with excretion while inconveniently forgetting to equip said device with any means of propulsion.
Once again half of the PLPN hegemony will go through a process of renewal, regeneration and redesign much in the vein of what Inħobbkom Joseph had done with the Malta Labour Party in order to turn it into a ‘slick political machine’ (see what I did there?) that churns out the kind of electoral victories that are sure to cure any kind of “uġiegh” that any die-hard “partitarju” may have felt. And therein (among a myriad other considerations) lies the crunch… (Qui sta il busillis)
(Not) A man for all seasons
Louis Galea means well. I am sure he does. This is definitely not an attack on Louis Galea. Nor is it intended to be an attack on the current leadership (for want of a better word) of the Nationalist party. This post, like many posts before it on this blog, is an attempt to point out the real needs of the country, its residents and its political parties (strictly in that order). In order to do that we must focus on the current dramatis personae but we must also step outside the political machine that takes many givens for granted and patiently point out the emperor’s nudity for the umpteenth time.
Louis Galea was anointed by Adrian Delia in these times of trouble and overt rebellion in order to quell the forces of evil and convert them to striving for the party’s cause because unity in the party, with the party, for the party is presupposed to be the overriding panacea. We could waste time looking into the factions, the dissent, the anger, the hurt and the damaged pride of what appears to be a party on its last throes. We could. But it is beside the point.
Let us just state the obvious that this transfer of responsibility from Delia to Galea is clear evidence of the failure of the Delia mandate. Leaders are appointed to give vision. A change of leader inevitably implies a change of style and direction with the imprint he or she will give to the party as a whole. It is not just Delia that is being held to such standards… here is what we had to say on Simon Busuttil’s performance as deputy leader (and Muscat). In handing over to Galea on of the most basic of tasks he should be fulfilling as leader Delia has openly admitted his lack of grip over the party.
Galea will do what he has always done. There is no way that the veteran politician who has served the party will change his ways and adapt them to 2019 and the future. His successes in party management occurred in an era when the cold war was in full swing, the end of history had not yet begun and coincided with the period of constitutional tinkering at a national level that set the way for the PLPN Constitution – an adaptation of liberal democracy centred around the pathetic alternation in power of THE parties.
Nostalgics will look back tearfully at the age of Xogħol, Ġustizzja, Liberta’ and wish against wish that Galea will manage to bring back that golden period. What Galea brings to the table though is the iron-clad determination to restore a party to its former slick perfection. What he does not bring is the content, the values, that were advocated by that slick machine in that period of time. Sure enough the good old Fehmiet Bażiċi will be bandied around at some point but they will do so in the same manner as has been done in recent years – one that weighs the importance of policy choices on the shameful scale of positivity and popularity.
Galea’s eighties PN differed from today’s PN in one important aspect. An era kicked off in the late seventies and reached all the way to 2004 and petered out as PM Gonzi soldiered through the economic crisis. That era was one where the PN was driven by consecutive “causes” that allowed an alienation from the mantra that is “in the party, with the party, for the party”. The PN was a party with a national interest acting for the national interest. Which is what a party should always be.
A nation that was born out of constitutional struggles with its colonial masters had seen first independence and then a republican constitution in its first steps on the world stage. The Mintoffian interlude and experimentation with ad hoc socialism had led the country to a developmental stagnation. Fenech Adami’s PN took up the challenge with vigour and the steps that followed involved a transformation into a liberal democracy, an infrastructural boost coupled with the path to membership of the European Union.
Nationalist party electoral victories (and losses) in this period cannot be seen separately from the underlying causes that were being fought. No matter how slick the party machine was, the real reason for the (at times disappointingly marginal) victories was that a sufficient majority of the nation could identify with cause after cause behind which the nationalist party had thrown its weight. At the time, the early signs of backsliding of the rule of law that resulted from party abuse of the law could be sidestepped for the greater cause.
There is no denying that by the time the people voted in the EU referendum, many pro-EU votes were also a vote for change – one that would allow for the raising of standards beyond the grasp of the petty partisan politics. The EU Acquis should have done the rest. Still. The PN had served its purpose for two decades. The last few years of the Gonzi government were concentrated on steadying the ship through the economic crisis but the PN had already begun to lose its hold on the pulse of the people.
A party for all reasons
Any reform of the PN must therefore also be seen in this light. As has always been the case a party must have a reason to exist. Aside from the minutiae of everyday policy development one must also be able to identify a party with an overarching cause – of the type that marked the PN’s double-decade of success at leading the country. Call it ideology if you will, though that gets complicated in this day and age what with the modus operandi of the current political arena.
The party’s mission with such a cause would be to convince first of all the people that they must espouse it and this for their own sake. That, in itself, is not the easiest of tasks. Just consider for a moment that the ground-breaking election of 1987 that launched the era of change was won by… wait for it… a margin of 4,785 votes. The cause must transcend the party. There is no other way of going about this for real effectiveness.
As things stand the reasoning that underlies ideas of reform is pinned strongly in the heart of the current system. Here is how I described it in 2016 in a blog post entitled Il Triangolo No:
The structure of our constitutional system has been built using a language that reasons in bi-partisan terms. A bi-party rationale is written directly into the building blocks of our political system – both legally and politically. Since 1964 the constitutional and electoral elements of our political system have been consolidated in such a manner as to only make sense when two parties are contemplated – one as government and one as the opposition.
We are wired to think of this as being a situation of normality. The two political parties are constructed around such a system – we have repeated this over the last ten years in this blog – and this results in the infamous “race to mediocrity” because standards are progressively lowered when all you have to do is simply be more attractive than the alternative. The effect of this system is an erosion of what political parties is all about.
The political parties operating within this system are destined to become intellectually lazy and a vacuum of value. The intricate structure of networks and dependencies required to sustain the system negates any possibility of objective creation of value-driven politics with the latter being replaced by interest-driven mechanisms gravitating around the alternating power structure. Within the parties armies of clone “politicians” are generated repeating the same nonsense that originates at the party source. Meaningless drivel replaces debate and this is endorsed by party faithfuls with a superficial nod towards “issues”.
The whole structure is geared for parties to operate that way. Once in parliament the constitutional division of labour comes into play – posts are filled according to party requirements and even the most independent of authorities is tainted by this power struggle of sorts. Muscat’s team promised Meritocracy and we all saw what that resulted in once the votes were counted. In a way it was inevitable that this would happen because many promises needed to be fulfilled – promises that are a direct result of how the system works.
The “intellectually lazy and value vacuum” parties are what needs to be reformed. This requires a rebooting of the system. What needs to be targeted are the laws and structures that have developed into an intricate network of power-mongering and twisted all sense of representative politics. Reform of this kind goes a much longer way than merely rebooting the party and putting it back in the same fray.
Forza Nazzjonali was a last-minute attempt to mobilise the forces of opposition to corruption in this country. It is telling that the part of the PN that viewed the coalition as anathema would justify their aversion to the idea with the fact that this damaged the “party”. It is the same part of the PN that is unable to see the greater picture regarding the backsliding of the rule of law in the country. In their eyes the difference between them and Muscat is that Muscat has hit on a winning formula and has raised his party to new heights of glory. You can bet your last euro cent that had Muscat been PN they would be applauding him till the cows come home.
As things stand though, the reform of the PN does not seem to be pointed in the direction of greater causes. The reform will in all probability get mired in the usual bull concerning street leaders, committees, local councils, regional structures, partition of party fiefdoms, “listening” mechanisms and such. Nahsbu fin-nies taghna. Nisimghu il-wegghat. Partit miftuh u lest ghal bidla. Yada yada yada.
That kind of reform deserves only a slow death. It would just be a tinkering of the ladders of power that are built within our parties with the hope of getting a chance of replicating them on a national scale once in “the power” (For more on how this works see yesterday’s fresh report from the Commissioner on Standards – or if you’re lazy just watch the Yes Minister episode called Jobs for the Boys). It is the kind of reform that assumes all is ok with the laws of the land and how they are applied. Again. That reform deserves a slow and painful death.
Death becomes them
I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that calling for the death of the party will attract all sorts of opprobrium from the party core. That should not matter. What matters is that the message gets across. The PN must die is really a call to rebuild from scratch. Thinking within the confines of an age-old mentality of parties wired to mirror and milk the state machine can only cause further damage. Instead the PN must rebuild as a party that owns the biggest cause at the moment : the need for a radical constitutional change that inoculates the nation against state capture.
After his failed mission at the last EU #topjobs summit Joseph Muscat flew to the Czech Republic and met PM Babis. The squares of the Czech republic have been filled with protesting citizens unhappy with Babis who is under investigation for fraud. Muscat could give a lesson or two to Babis on how to convert the baying crowds into comfortable electoral margin wins. That’s the Muscat who was not considered for an EU Top job because of his governmental track record.
The new PN should be out there leading the battle against corruption on all fronts. It should be reminding the people that this battle is for their best because the backsliding of the rule of law will ultimately have one big victim: the very people who currently blindly follow Muscat’s every turn. That new PN can only exist if the current format and mindset are ditched. This is the chance to take the lead in a wide coalition of opposition for real change. In 2020 the seeds for a new forward looking movement could be sown. The odds are stacked against that though – the system is a survivor, the system feeds on the core nostalgics and will show a strong will of self-preservation.
Never forget, and beware, that old Mediterranean adage: “if we want everything to stay the same, then everything must change”.
“They don’t have to show us Catch-22,” the old woman answered. “The law says they don’t have to.” “What law says they don’t have to?” “Catch-22.”
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
Konrad Mizzi, the government and anybody with an interest in transforming the Mizzi/Schembri Panama Papers issue into yet another story of apparent ‘allegations’ are crying victory all over the social media following the Appeals Court decision to overturn a lower court’s decision to allow an in genere inquiry (inquest-inkjesta) to go ahead into allegations of money laundering by the government’s star-minister.
Ignorance of the law has always been abused of and politicians will continue to do so, as long as citizens are happy to be taken for a ride. The Court decision today is all about not allowing an inquiry to go ahead. It does not exculpate Mizzi – far from it. The whole judgment reads as a technical examination on whether or not the grounds exist for an in genere inquiry to go ahead. In layman’s terms the Judge was examining whether the report that was made was substantial enough to justify starting an examination of facts in order to preserve such facts for what could eventually be a prosecution.
The worry in today’s Malta is that the systemic breakdown that includes the breakdown of the rule of law has affected every branch of our democracy’s institutions. Our Justice Minister constantly takes pride in reminding everyone who complains that, among others, we have a faultless judicial appointments system. And yet.
Yet the Venice commission report clearly pointed out faults in this appointments system. The judiciary remain firmly within the hold and control of the executive – particularly with regards to their hopes for their future career development. It would not take much to begin to wonder whether judgments are being written in reverse – a decision is taken and then an excuse for a justification for a decision that grasps at straws to sound “law-worthy’ is conjured up as a supposedly good reason to reach that decision that has already been decided.
Judge Grixti’s ruling is faulty. There is no harm in saying that because, as I know very well myself, drafters of judgments are far from being infallible. It is not enough to claim that it is faulty though – an explanation must be given. @bugdavem on twitter gave the perfect explanation in a thread that I am reproducing below.
I will only add that Grixti seems to have come up with a Catch-22 situation for anyone wanting to report a crime with the hope to get an inquiry in genere going.
It goes something like this: You need an in genere inquiry to investigate, find and confirm the existence of proof that may be used for a future prosecution of a crime. In order to get an in genere inquiry going you need to provide the type of proof that would normally be found and obtained by the in genere inquiry itself. See? Grixti’s very own Catch-22.
Bugdavem on twitter
The catch with Judge Giovanni Grixti’s ruling is (and this is where you realise that the Maltese courts have – intentionally or otherwise – no understanding of money laundering), that attempted money laundering is in itself a crime punishable by 3+ years imprisonment.
What does that mean or entail? Money laundering laws set a low threshold for evidence given that, in practice, the machinations that might be employed by launderers or attempted launders could frustrate justice.
In a case of actual money laundering, the threshold needed for the prosecution is prima facie – at face value – that there is no logical or lawful explanation for the monies to be laundered. The Maltese courts have held jusrt this in the past and it is also clearly stated in the law.
Once that is proven then it is up to the defendent to prove to the satisfaction of the court that any monies and arrangements were in fact lawful and legitimate. This is the rule for actual money laundering as well as the threshold and burdens of proof required.
For attempted money laundering, the threshold is even lower since given that this is an “attempt” one would need to show prima facie the intention and preliminary steps taken to implement that intention.
In Judge Giovanni Grixti’s decision to reject even the opening of an inquest to saveguard evidence (ie, not even for a prosecution so the threshold is actuallylower) he ruled that he expected a level of evidence that is higher than the prosecution in an actual case of laundering .
This is the active part where he stated that is was incumbent on the complainant, here Simon Busuttil, to prove how the series of events and machinations were illegal (as opposed to the threshold of prima facie no logical or lawful explanation).
Anyone with half a brain can see how bizarre this is. The threshold to request a magistrate to safeguard evidence in attempted laundering which the Police won’t investigate is (by virtue of this judgment – J’accuse) actually (set) higher than that required by the Police to secure a conviction for actual money laundering.
