Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1206972
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2020 OPINION tions – which are incidentally now the subject of a judicial protest filed by Birdlife Malta – he simply pointed out that the decision to assign ministerial portfolios is, was and remains 'the Prime Minister's preroga- tive'. Erm… what is that, exactly, if not another way of saying that Prime Minister Robert Abela took the decision simply be- cause the law empowers him to… and nobody can stop him? Much as I hate to bring it up precisely now: that is exact- ly the attitude that lies at the heart of the political crisis that has engulfed our country over the past few months. Boil down the Venice Com- mission's criticism to its bare essentials, and the resulting ar- gument is that Malta's system of checks and balances places far too much power directly in the hands of the Prime Minis- ter himself. It is, in fact, 'the Prime Minis- ter's prerogative' that is under attack here: the Commission's entire argument is that the Prime Minister should NOT have so much prerogative in the first place (before we even get to the question of HOW he goes on to use – or abuse – that prerogative). And the Gozo Ministry deci- sion is a very good example of exactly why this is so wrong, too. Because it results in flawed de- cisions taken for all the wrong reasons; and with the possible consequence of weakening all the enforcement and discipli- nary aspects of regulation… which, in turn, is precisely the same pattern of governance that had precipitated the polit- ical crisis to begin with. So we may, at least, have part of an answer to that original question. Can a new prime minister bring about any truly meaning- ful change? Oh yes, indeed he can… but not by replicating all the mistakes made by his pre- decessor.