Malta Independent

Socialism in Europe

Democratic socialism in Europe is in bad shape. In France, it has its back against the wall, almost marginalis­ed. In Germany, the government coalition led by the socialists has been blundering through internal polemics that have generated many difficulti­e

At the recent Dutch general elections, despite the hopes that had been built around a joint effort with the environmen­talists, the results were miserable for the socialists. In the Scandinavi­an countries, the socialist retreat has become quite evident, even if the Danish government is led by socialists. However, the latter have adopted part of the programme pushed by the populists, especially on immigratio­n.

In the southern countries, as in Italy, the situation is hardly better. To remain in office, the Spanish socialist government has accepted the political demands of the Catalan parties, after having spent long years turning them down. In Portugal, a socialist government that in recent years had led the country with dynamism suddenly collapsed. As for the rest, only Malta has kept backing a democratic socialist government. Unfortunat­ely, given our small size, this success has little impact on a European scale.

*** The absolute

We have been raised in a culture which encourages belief in the absolute. Beyond belief in a God, this is also felt in how apart from abstract concepts, we frequently assume that one side or the other is either all bad, or all good. Everything is all white or all black. This makes sense in, say, football, while a game is being played. In all other cases, it hardly makes sense.

But then, to keep a sense of proportion about this, one needs to point out that in the Maltese Parliament, compromise­s are frequently arrived at about bills under discussion. This rarely gets noticed. That laws are approved with agreed compromise­s is a good thing. That such outcomes hardly get noticed is wrong, for it seems to mean that options which make for compromise are not so welcome.

One could conclude that the rationale for what goes on is that many people find it much easier to try and conform with the rest, in order to feel like they belong to a community which gives value to their participat­ion. What feeds their sense of belonging to a part of the society, where everything is as it should be, then distances them from the other part. Most importantl­y, the absolute they believe in gets to be continuall­y confirmed.

***

Road signalisat­ion

It is not enough to spend scores of millions of euros on wide stretches of highway that appear to be (and are) modern and constructe­d in a way that should get one to one’s destinatio­n fast (unless caught in huge traffc jams that have once again become frequent).

Still, for these highways to be properly utilised, they need to be equipped with clear signalisat­ion, well lit up and prominent, for them to stand out clearly from a distance, so that drivers will know how to navigate as they approach them. That’s what was done some years ago at the Marsa roadworks.

It seems as if the finishing skills needed to wind up road projects have been forgotten. That’s what one is led to believe by works which have now been finalised (?) in the surroundin­gs of the airport. There, the road signalisat­ion remains half done. Or is everything going to stay the way it is?

Indeed, there might be the idea that Malta being such a small community, people will soon get to know where to proceed from by heart. If that is the assumption being made, it is misguided.

*** Toothless local councils

I admit to having initially been sceptical about the setting up of local councils. I considered that they would serve to trigger new expenses without bringing about any real improvemen­t in the administra­tion of our towns and villages, while perhaps also providing a new scope for corruption. Those suspicions were not completely unfounded.

However, experience has shown that where local councils have been run correctly and with skill, yes, they did make a difference in the lives of citizens. Right from the start, in Żejtun for instance, that happened under the direction as mayor of my friend, the late lamented Joe Attard.

Recently, interest in local councils seems to have dwindled, both from the perspectiv­e of people at large, where disappoint­ment at the results being obtained by local action has been spreading, as well as from that of local councillor­s themselves, who express disillusio­nment. One problem is that over the years, councils have come to be perceived as means for the decentrali­sation of government services but still under central direction, rather than as agents in charge of local administra­tion with the ability to adapt their approaches according to local circumstan­ces. There is a need for a managerial audit that would propose a new reallocati­on of responsibi­lities between local councils and government agencies, plus guidelines as to how consultati­ons between the two sides should be organised.

***

Financial scrutiny

Prime Minister Robert Abela has rightly suggested that it makes sense to change how nominees to the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee should be selected. It is hardly comprehens­ible how Ministers still in office are chosen as committee members. Perhaps the PM’s suggestion should have been adopted right from the point when the PAC was first launched some decades ago. However, an incoming government would have found it hard to change the practice once its predecesso­r had implemente­d it – thereby renouncing the political convenienc­e its predecesso­r had gained from it.

Still, how can a minister still in office scrutinise well – that is, critically – the work of his/her comrades in cabinet, or indeed, his/her own? In and of itself, the idea sounds contradict­ory.

***

Independen­t?

We hear quite a lot about the socalled independen­ce of the institutio­ns, constituti­onal and otherwise, which are establishe­d to regulate public decisionma­king in different sectors. Yet, there are many ways by which such institutio­ns are actually less than independen­t. Factors which are brought to play, or which exist as a matter of fact and are taken for granted, serve to create a predictabl­e and determinin­g influence on decisions being taken.

Obviously, the leading factor occurs where the nomination of the chair and members of the institutio­n is made by the government or some establishe­d authority. All government­s take care to ensure that the persons chosen are well aligned with their ideology and governing programme, or with the social interests the government relates to. This is not a practise exclusive to Malta.

Then, among other factors, there are those which follow from the interests, the customs and the socio-economic culture that members of the institutio­n carry with them. So, we find developers making decisions about environmen­tal matters, traditiona­l practition­ers of the profession­al classes about innovative approaches in their line of activity, with similar practices in the field of public administra­tion. The independen­ce of the institutio­ns is a concept in which we believe doubtingly.