Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/920426
25 maltatoday SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017 Editorial MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 EXECUTIVE EDITOR: MATTHEW VELLA Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 • Fax: (356) 21 385075 www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: maltatoday@mediatoday.com.mt 2018 should be a year of major reforms Quote of the week "Magistrates, as well as judges, are currently leading a number of very delicate investigations. We promise to pray for you, that you may not only enjoy wisdom and understanding, but also have the courage to do what needs doing, without fear or favour." – Archbishop Charles J Scicluna in a message to the judiciary The year that is about to end was not the 'happiest' one Malta has ever experienced. The murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on October 16 still casts a long shadow over any clinical assessment of 2017. There were occasional reasons for jubila- tion this year, no doubt: but an event of that magnitude can only eclipse most other considerations; even important issues, like a record in economic growth, and the consoli- dation of a fiscal surplus. Enough has been written about the crime itself, the subsequent arrests that were made, and the judicial process that is now ongoing. What remains largely unexplored is the long-term fall-out. In response to this murder, 2017 also witnessed the emergence of a grassroots social movement demanding justice and the rule of law. Perhaps more co- gently, Malta has been under unprecedented international press scrutiny for the past three months. Much of this media attention has centred on our country's many systemic, institutional shortcomings. Already this debate has been sidetracked over questions over the accuracy of portray- als of Malta as a 'Mafia State'. Much of the international coverage was undeniably exag- gerated. It would, however, be facile to argue with the core perception that something is deeply rotten within the mechanisms of the Maltese state. This was evident to us long before last October's tragedy: we have in fact been discussing Constitutional reform for over a decade now. Clearly, this is not a discussion that can be postponed any longer. What better occasion than the end of a momentous year (momen- tous for all the wrong reasons), to ensure that the new one starts on a happier, more productive note? Without going into too much detail, we are already aware of where some of the most pivotal reforms are needed. While important steps have been taken to ensure the complete independence of the judiciary (with what long-term success, remains to be seen) there has so far been no correspond- ing effort to guarantee the autonomy of the police force. There are clear conflicts of interest in the way the office of the Attor- ney General is apportioned between 'public prosecutor' and 'government legal adviser'. And there seems to be cross-party con- sensus to address these (and other) issues through the necessary legal amendments. The question therefore remains why noth- ing has been done about any of these pend- ing issues, despite the clear electoral prom- ise of a forum for Constitutional change. In truth, however, these systemic reforms – necessary though they are – represent only the tip of an iceberg. Other equally sys- temic and endemic problems also exist, and these are not always easy to rectify through acts of Parliament. Another issue that was heavily accented this year concerns an ap- parent breakdown in the political balance of power. 2017 was also a year in which the Opposition party's inner conflicts spilled out into the open for all to see. The result of the August leadership election has left the formerly monolithic Nationalist Party teetering on the brink of a possible schism. This apparent nosedive in electoral for- tunes seems to be confirmed by recent sur- veys, which paint an overwhelmingly bleak outlook for the PN under Adrian Delia. This assumes greater relevance in the light of two important electoral appointments loom- ing in 2018: the European and local council elections, to be held concurrently next June. Admittedly a lot can happen between now and then. But if all things remain equal, Malta may well find itself in a very different political reality in just a few months' time. This creates inevitable problems which may in turn affect our ability to address some of the other, unrelated issues that also need to be rectified. Conversely to the state of the Opposition, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat now presides over an almost unop- posed government. Electorally, he remains unassailable (indeed his majority seems to have increased considerably since the elec- tion), and – even more significantly, given the nature of the reforms themselves – the Parliamentary Opposition does not, at pre- sent, appear to be in a position to place its own stamp on Maltese legislation. The embarrassing defeat of a PN-tabled amendment to the recent IVF legislation – in which eight opposition MPs abstained - also exposed the fragility of Delia's grip on his parliamentary group. One must question whether a repeat of this pattern may jeop- ardise any serious attempt at Constitutional reform, which – in most cases – would require a two-thirds parliamentary majority. Recent history suggests that this was diffi- cult to achieve, even when both parties were at their most unified. When one of those parties is in open revolt, it cannot command the necessary parliamentary clout to guar- antee Constitutional change at that level. Nor is it healthy that the ailing Opposi- tion forces us to rely on the magnanim- ity of Joseph Muscat to ensure that any systemic changes are for the better. When a government becomes too strong, there is a tendency to abuse that strength for its own benefit. And the reforms under discussion affect the very foundation blocks of the Maltese state, which can only be tinkered with at great risk. There is, in brief, much work to be done in the aftermath of 2017. It must begin sooner rather than later.