Tista' taqra bil- Malti.
Education may be key to overcoming Malta’s entrenched culture of nepotism, participants in a debate on Andrew Azzopardi on 103 agreed: but Malta’s political system also has a lot to answer for.
The debate saw the participation of Luciano Busuttil, a former Ħamrun mayor who was a Labour MP between 2008 and 2017, when he failed to be re-elected, and who could attest to numerous stories of individuals asking for favours – including manifestly illegal ones like an undeclared job to avoid losing out on unemployment benefits – in exchange of their vote. Asked how he handled such requests during his political career, Busuttil had a quick reply.
“It’s easy – that’s why I wasn’t re-elected,†he quipped.
Academic and activist Louiselle Vassallo emphasised that one must distinguish between nepotism and politicians being close to people, arguing that Malta’s smallness could be an advantage since it made the latter more possible. But a culture of seeking favours was undermining meritocracy and Malta’s political system.
When many seek favours and threaten politicians with their vote, she said, “politicians feel as though they are hostages because they wish to be elected.†That would not excuse politicians who indulge favour-seeking voters, but even those pursuing a political career to do good feel the pressure: and naturally, not every political candidate may have such noble intentions.
Electoral districts make things worse
But a culture of nepotism already exacerbated by Malta’s small size is actually made worse by the manner in which it holds its general elections, with Busuttil describing the division of Malta into 13 electoral districts as “the greatest problem in our political system.â€
In a telephone intervention, MaltaToday journalist Kurt Sansone concurred with the problem presented by the districts, each with an average of just around 27,000 registered voters in this year’s election.
As he highlights, the main rivals for prospective MPs are not other parties and their candidates, but their own party’s candidates in the same district: which means that each candidate is in effect competing for an even smaller share of votes. And in this context, every vote can matter, and a few people disgruntled because a favour was not given could make all the difference.
“We have too many districts, too much fragmentation. If you have an argument with a couple of families over a decision that is necessary in the wider context, that could mean your seat is threatened,†he explained.
The power of incumbency is also abused, in behaviour perhaps best explained by the ubiquitous “do you need anything?†calls made by ministries ahead of an election.
Vassallo, who expressed her astonishment at being targeted by such calls despite her involvement in Occupy Justice, highlighted two key problems with the practice. The first is that, whenever someone asks for something, it will likely be promised. But even worse is the possibility that the promise is kept.
Seeking favours or rights?
But not every request made to a politician is as egregious as the request for an undeclared job made to Busuttil: in some cases, what people ask for may actually be something they are entitled to. And in the view of academic Francois Mifsud, from the University of Malta’s Department of Inclusion and Access to Learning, perhaps this, more than everything else, highlights the absence of a proper education on such issues.
People who may not be aware of their rights – because they were not properly taught about them – will feel, as their ancestors had, that they would need the intercession of someone powerful.
“We feel we need an expert to interpret things for us; we are not confident in our own ability to understand a book or a law,†Mifsud said.
And as he highlighted that many asked for simple things they could obtain – if only they knew where to go – Sansone highlighted that many politicians are all too happy to keep things as they are, appearing to do miracles when a simple phone call or letter could do the trick.
In this context, Mifsud is calling for significant changes in Malta’s educational system, to ensure that topics such as rights, the Constitution and basic laws start being taught at primary level.
Vassallo draws similar conclusions: whilst she highlights that entrenched nepotism cannot be solved in a few years, one certainly could not wait until university to start educating students on democracy, civics, media literacy and critical thinking.
And in the meantime, Malta will have to deal with what Sansone described as a “system that feeds on itself.†But in this spirit, Busuttil asks: who has the most to lose if it is stopped?
Watch the full discussion:
