The Lowenbrau saga is developing further, much beyond its original obvious intent. The new twist is whether, and to what extent, the use of “revolving doors” by politicians as soon as their political office draws to an end is permissible.
The use of “revolving doors” is a reference to the practice of some politicians to join the Board of Directors or team of advisors of business/industry in an area which they would have been responsible for regulating when in office.
The practice in the EU and some other countries is to postpone the possible entry of former Commissioners (holders of political office) in the areas they previously regulated by three years. This signifies that former Commissioners (or Ministers) are forbidden (unless they obtain prior clearance) from joining Boards of Directors and/or organisations of lobbyists for a number of years. A case in point was the recent Barroso appointment to the Goldman Sachs Board which whilst being considered as being “morally reprehensible” was not deemed to be a breach of the EU integrity code.
As far as I am aware, the Standards in Public Life Bill currently pending before Malta’s Parliament does not address the issue. The issues to be addressed are various. Primarily, however, it is urgent to establish a cooling-off length of time during which time persons active in public life should not take up posts in the private sector in order to ensure the observance of an ethical benchmark.
John Dalli’s taking up the post of Chairman of Marsovin is only one example. There are various others amongst which the posts which John Dalli himself as well as Karmenu Vella (present Commissioner and former Minister for Tourism) had taken up with the Corinthia Group in the past.
In fairness the applicability of such an ethical standard should also be considered for top civil servants, who should approach the use of revolving doors with extreme caution.
Blog ta' Carmel Cacopardo 