Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512115
OVER the last two months we have witnessed a new crop of political scandal - the benefits racket in September, and the in- famous driving license scandal in October. As the whistleblower who exposed Transport Malta's racket starts testifying against three ex-officials charged with corruption, a deeper reflection on the systems and circumstanc- es that brought us here is essen- tial. These scandals fulfil all the definitions of clientelism and nepotism, which seem to be inextricably woven together in the fabric of the Labour Party. The current administration is dead-set to further entrench it- self in the halls of Kastilja. However, the government's response points at something far more sinister. Labour offi- cials are not even deflecting or denying the issue. Instead, the administration is shrugging off the controversy by down- playing the gravity and level of corruption at hand. This cor- ruption is normalised not just through impunity. People are also exhausted at the constant barrage of controversy and bla- tant misconduct. We are also exhausted. We are exasperated by the govern- ment's disregard for civil so- ciety as well as the brazen use of party loyalty to close ranks and deflect all criticism. This fatigue only alienates people, whose indifference and absten- tion in turn props up the sys- tem. Down the line, this breeds political apathy. Those of us who do choose to engage are subject to a sort of political gaslighting, where the realm of acceptable poli- tics has gradually shifted to the level where overt corruption "is the way the political system works", as the Prime Minister said. What the Prime Minister however fails to mention is that the political system is full of politicians who have no ma- terial incentive to work on an- ything other than their private interests. These are the same politicians who have overde- veloped every inch of the is- lands. They are the ones who underinvested in public health and then auctioned it off to their friends. And they are the ones mistreating migrants on land and leaving them to die at sea. Every action betrays a clear disregard for public well- being and a clear admission of the chokehold that capital has on them. When we join the dots to- gether, we quickly realise that politics has become a means to power for power's sake. Politics is no longer about achieving a specific ideological vision for society. Instead, po- litical will - both domestically and abroad - is channelled to- wards maintaining the status quo. It is power for power's sake - bereft of any plan be- sides reproducing itself. Where does that lead? The public is never in a position where it can contest inequi- ties and the political elite do not address systemic inequal- ities. Wrongdoing remains unpunished and compounds. Injustice ends up defining our material conditions. Any challenge to the government apparatus feels insurmounta- ble, and any effort to address it insubstantial. And then, any remedy comes in the form of means-tested, market-oriented policy drafted by four friends- of-friends. As leftists, we call this neolib- eralism. You may have differing definitions but there is no de- nying that the administration is becoming a reactionary ma- chine solely tasked with put- ting off self-inflicted fires and creating short term schemes to appease the electoral base. The prevalence of these schemes is not a symptom of a hijacked or misaligned system. They are not even the isolated actions of a few "bad apples", utilising party levers to eke out the few extra votes that may al- low them to remain in office for a couple of years more. These are features of a system that is unequipped to deal with ev- er-escalating crises. It relies on opportunistic and clientelistic relations to plug the growing holes of the social safety net and appease disgruntled or even greedy constituents. At the same time, as the elite be- come further entrenched, they disregard rules and procedure while the out-group suffers. We refuse to accept this. We refuse to be subject to a system that protects the interests of a select elite through regulatory capture. We refuse to operate under the assumption that the only way to provide for the vul- nerable is with quid pro quos and handshake agreements. We refuse to allow a reali- ty where a select few people get privileged treatment via WhatsApp chats with their lo- cal representative. So despite how tired we feel, how we toil away in the court- rooms and in the streets, we are committed to fighting the oppression of the outrage ma- chine. We demand that the La- bour officials involved in these scandals are summoned and questioned. We demand that the incestuous relationship of the government with the po- lice force is severed, and full disclosures are enforced when investigating corruption cases. Long term, we recognise that eliminating clientelism can only be achieved by abolishing the two-party system through electoral reform. But the people of Malta are tired nonetheless. Their pro- tests and objections, despite the overwhelming evidence, are ignored or trapped in an unending bureaucracy. How- ever, it is evident that the aforementioned escalating cri- ses will eventually expose the contradictions of this political reality. The edifice of respectable realpolitik is unequivocally challenged and on the verge of collapsing. Politicians, intel- lectuals and public figures of Malta need to consider what happens next. 'Tis the season of grifting 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 NOVEMBER 2023 OPINION OPINION Haris Barounis is an activist with Moviment Graffitti Haris Barounis The current administration is dead-set to further entrench itself in the halls of Kastilja