Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1332685
2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JANUARY 2021 Restoring normality to America Editorial FOLLOWING the unrest witnessed in the USA in re- cent months, the inauguration of President Joe Biden appears to signify the turning over of a historical page. It would, of course, be premature to augur that Bid- en's presidency, on its own, will restore 'normality' to a country that has long been fractured by internal issues and problems: not all of Donald Trump's making. But in terms of ordinary American political proto- col – which was so rudely interrupted, during Trump's chaotic final weeks in the Oval office – the sense of 'normality being restored' is nonetheless keenly felt. In a sense, it is a testament to the pervasiveness of America's aura, as a 'beacon of democracy', that the country's recent slide towards anarchy had such a powerful global impact. It was as though the country so many had looked up to, for so long, as a 'democratic role model', was itself teetering on the brink of autoc- racy. The resulting sense of disorientation had ripple ef- fects even here in Malta: where the extent of America's influence has often been felt before. It was only recently that Malta's Moneyval woes were linked to American pressure for a State of Armed Forces agreement; separately, the USA has also sup- ported Maltese requests for United Nations Security Council sanctions against fuel smugglers. The result – while short of a SOFA agreement – reveals the greater US interest in having monitoring power over shipping activities at Hurd's Bank. In all such cases, the USA has relied on more than mere political muscle. It also banks on its international reputation as a 'force for good in the world'; and the above examples are cases where American influence was used to counter organised crime, and to foster more transparency and accountability. These factors, too, are deeply interwoven into the fabric of American democracy: characterised, as it is, by a complex system of power checks and balances. There is, however, an important lesson to be learnt from the traditions of American democracy: which is that even refined, modern systems of demo- cratic governance suffer from quirks of egre- gious largesse. Nowhere have these quirks been more visible, than in the recent plethora of pardons issued by a departing President Trump: from which the very sense of justice, that the United States so often represents in missions over- seas, was so conspicuously absent. In his final hours, Trump expunged convictions and prison sentences for corrupt politicians and business executives, and allies like his far-right propagandist and strategist Stephen Bannon, and his fundraiser El- liott Broidy. All these officials and business executives were caught up in high-profile corruption cases. For exam- ple, Bannon was under indictment on charges that he misused money he helped raise for a group backing Trump's border wall. His pardon means he will not go to trial. Broidy actually pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to violate foreign lobbying laws as part of a covert campaign to influence the Trump adminis- tration on behalf of Chinese and Malaysian interests. Now, he gets pardoned. In total there were 143 pardons, including four Black- water guards convicted in connection with the killing of Iraqi civilians. Among others receiving pardons were prominent Republicans like Rick Renzi, who was sentenced in 2013 to three years in jail over land swap bribery scheme; Robert Hayes, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to lying to the F.B.I, and Randall Cunningham, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors. To the Maltese reader, this raft of pardons will dis- hearten those who look towards the United States as some beacon of international morality. Indeed, it em- boldens critics of American imperialism who, in both government and opposition, have had to engage with America's geopolitical and economic interests in Malta. Moreover, it can be safely stated that such an out- standing and excessive use of executive power is un- apparelled in Malta's system of governance. Granted, the imperfections of Maltese democracy stem from its very youth, having graduated radically from British co- lonial government into a system where a good deal of power is centralised in the role of the prime minister; leaving us with a system of checks and balances in urgent need of re- fining and strengthening. But nothing in the Maltese system can be equated to the abuse so ap- parent under President Trump. One can only hope that President Biden – whose first act was to re-sign the Paris Climate agreement – will re- store not just a sense of normality to his country… but also, Ameri- ca's rightful place on the world po- litical map. 23 January 2011 Honoraria paid as 'allowances' directly from ministry budgets The Office of the Prime Minister has exposed itself to the charge of having misled the public by paying govern- ment ministers €26,000 on top of their €40,000 salaries in the form of a 'parlia- mentary honorarium' that was instead being paid out of the ministerial budg- ets. The OPM admitted this week with MaltaToday that ministers were paid out of an 'allowance' budget from their own ministries, and not from the budget allo- cated to the House of Representatives. This led to an explosion in the OPM's own budget, from €400,000 in allowanc- es in 2007 to €650,000 in 2008, and then €1 million in 2009. From here, the prime minister and his two parliamentary secretaries were each paid €26,000 in the form of an honoraria and another €8,000 as duty allowance. This means that when MaltaToday first revealed the unannounced Cabinet decision in November 2008, the OPM misleadingly told this newspaper the salary increase was due to ministers re- ceiving an MP's honoraria. What was in effect a 50% salary raise was defended in parliament this week by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who said it was "unfair" that ministers lost their honorarium while other MPs earned salaries from public employment. And while the Cabinet memo tabled in parliament indicates that the same changes had to apply to the Speaker and the Opposition leader, no such honorar- ia were ever legislated in parliament. Which is why the finance ministry simply decided to pay out the alleged honoraria from the 'allowances budget' of each government ministry, and for two years never needed to legislate the increase, while MPs who voted on two successive budgets never knew they were effectively voting in favour of increased salaries. ... Quote of the Week "Not all that is offensive necessarily represents a breach in ethics... one would be disregarding the importance of such codes if they apply them to a case of a bad word slipping from the mouth of a minister in the heat of an argument." Standards Commissioner George Hyzler MaltaToday 10 years ago