Fuq il-polza tal-vot : il-Forza Nazzjonali ma teżistix

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Xi uħud għandhom bl-illużjoni li hawn xi Forza Nazzjonali u spiss jiktbu li għad hemm ċans li wieħed jingħaqad ma din il-forza.

Meta il-Kummissjoni Elettorali, illum, tibda tilqa’ n-nominazzjonijiet forsi tindunaw li ma hu ser ikun hemm l-ebda nomina f’isem xi Forza Nazzjonali. Sempliċiment għax din ma teżistix. In-nomini ser ikunu f’isem il-Partit Nazzjonalista, l-Partit Laburista, l-Alternattiva Demokratika, possibilment xi partiti żgħar oħra u xi kandidati indipendenti.

Għax fir-realtá ma teżisti l-ebda koalizzjoni imma lista elettorali tal-PN li fiha kandidati li m’humiex membri tal-PN u ċjoe membri tal-Partit Demokratiku.

Dan seħħ għax uħud, inkluż min jippretendi li jifhem ħafna, għaġġlu u b’hekk ma tawx ċans li tkun żviluppata koalizzjoni vera.

Alternattiva Demokratika dejjem riedet tipparteċipa f’koalizzjoni, immaterjalment minn din xi tkun tissejjaħ, imma koalizzjoni ma hawnx.

Ma nkunx ġust jekk nittimbra lil min qed jaqbel mal-PN li hu opportunist, għax ma naħsibx li huma. Imma jibqa’ l-fatt li m’humiex jirrealizzaw il-konsegwenzi gravi ta’ dak li għamlu.

F’dan il-mument kritiku kien ikun tajjeb kieku ġiet iffurmata koalizzjoni, imma koalizzjoni m’hawnx u issa dan m’huwiex iktar possibli.

Dan hu ħasra għax it-triq li qabad il-PN m’hiex fl-interess nazzjonali. Il-lingwaġġ użat fil-kampanja elettorali s’issa hu qalil u ser ikompli jkattar il-mibgħeda. Fl-aħħar min qed jikkontribwixxi għal din il-mibgħeda irid jerfa’ r-responsabbiltá sħiħa.

X’ser jiġri fl-aħħar ma nafx. Naf biss ħaġa waħda: li fuq il-polza tal-vot m’hu ser ikun hemm l-ebda Forza Nazzjonali!   

X’jifhmu tal-PN b’koalizzjoni

Min qed jitkellem dwar koalizzjoni tajjeb li jifhem sewwa li din ta’ hawn fuq ġiet ippubblikata mis-Sur Geoff Pisani Bencini imma li tneħħiet immedjatament wara, nhar l-20 ta’ Marzu 2017. Aħna ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika ridna koalizzjoni suriet in-nies.

L-aritmetika ta’ Simon Busuttil

Il-mod kif Simon Busuttil u l-Partit Nazzjonalista imxew fil-konfront tal-proposti ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika wrew biċ–ċar li l-PN kien, sfortunatament, interessat biss fl-aritmetika ta’ alleanza pre-elettorali. Jiġifieri l-uniku interess li kellu l-PN kien li fl-ewwel għadd jgħodd flimkien il-voti li jikseb il-PN ma dawk li tista’ tikseb AD.

Meta ltqajna nhar il-Ġimgħa, wara iktar minn xahrejn nistennew, AD għaddiet lill-PN sett ta’ proposti. Meta iktar tard Simon Busuttil indirizza lill-istampa qal li kien hemm kważi qbil totali mal-proposti politiċi ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika.

Id-differenza kienet għax il-PN ried li l-kandidati tal-AD jikkontestaw l-elezzjoni fil-lista tal-PN filwaqt li AD irrispondiet li l-kandidati kollha tal-koalizzjoni għandhom jikkontestaw l-elezzjoni f’isem l-istess koalizzjoni. Ippreżentajna ukoll proposta dettaljata kif dan jista’ jsir.

Flok ma abbandunajna d-diskussjonijiet bqajna niddiskutu jiena u Mario de Marco. Fid-diskussjonijiet kollha li kelli ma Mario de Marco bejn il-Ġimgħa li għaddiet u l-bieraħ stess għall-ħabta tat-3pm iddiskutejna fil-fond din id-differenza fundamentali u ma stajniex naqblu. Ma Mario tista’ tiddiskuti bil-kalma. Ma għandi l-ebda dubju li fehem id-differenzi sewwa u li wassal fil-PN b’mod ċar dak li iddiskutejna. Imma sfortunatament bqajna ma ftehmniex.

Lil dawk kollha li għaddejjin bil-kummenti fuq il-media soċjali dwar dan in-nuqqas ta’ ftehim ngħidilhom biex jistaqsu lilhom infushom mistoqsija waħda: xi dritt għandu l-PN li jippretendi li l-kandidati ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika jippreżentaw ruħhom daqslikieku kienu kandidati tal-PN. Għamilna ħilitna kollha biex inkunu oġġettivi f’dak li ngħidu u f’dak li nipproponu, tant li l-PN innifsu, fl-istqarrija tiegħu l-bieraħ ikkummenta dwar dan b’mod posittiv. Dan għamilnieh minkejja li fil-passat Alternattiva Demokratika ingidmet mill-PN u minkejja li l-pariri kollha li kellna kienu biex ma nafdawx. Minkejja li l-PN dejjem ittrattana ħażin, fl-interess nazzjonali ippruvajna infittxu ftehim. 

Dan kollu hu ħasra għax l-alleanza pre-elettorali (jew kif insejħuha kulltant il-koalizzjoni) kienet opportunitá unika biex inkattru r-rispett għad-diversitá politika. Opportunitá li issa tidher li intilfet.  Hi ħasra ukoll li l-PN ma kienx kapaċi jara l-interessi tal-pajjiż qabel jew flimkien mal-interessi aritmetiċi tal-Partit Nazzjonalista. Bħala konsegwenza ta’ dan, il-Partit Nazzjonalista issa jeħtieġ li jerfa’ r-responsabbiltá li qed jagħti lil Joseph Muscat u lid-delinkwenti ta’ madwaru l-possibilità ta’ ħames snin oħra fil-Gvern. Alternattiva Demokratika qatt ma tagħlaq il-bieb u tibqa’ lesta li tiddiskuti sakemm dan ikun possibli.

 

Mhux faċli, imma possibli

 

Il-kummenti dwar id-diskussjonijiet bejn l-AD u l-PN huma diversi. Fil-fehma tiegħi hemm diffikultajiet ġenwini miż–żewġ naħat.

Da parti tagħha, Alternattiva Demokratika disposta li tagħmel sforz biex taqbel fuq isem aċċettabbli għaż–żewġ naħat. Avolja kull isem li issemma fih xi problema.

Imma l-istorja ma tieqafx hawn, għax dan hu biss il-bidu. Biex imbagħad il-lista tal-kandidati miftehma tidher fil-polza tal-vot b’dan l-isem irid “jinħoloq” partit politiku li jkollu dan l-isem.

Din hi kumplikazzjoni żejda li nħolqot riżultat tal-liġi tal-finanzjament tal-partiti.

Imma dwar dan, Alternattiva Demokratika diġa għaddiet proposta dettaljata lill-PN fil-laqgħa li saret il-Ġimgħa. Mhux faċli imma possibli.  Avolja l-kummenti vojta ta’ uħud ma tantx qed jagħmlu ġid.

Għad baqa’ biss ftit siegħat ċans

Kultant jiġini d-dubju eżattament xi jrid il-Partit Nazzjonalista.

Nhar it-13 ta’ Frar li għadda kont il-Parlament għal laqgħa tal-Kumitat dwar l-Abbozzi tal-Liġijiet. Kien ġie fuqi Mario de Marco. Wara li irrefera għall-artiklu tiegħi fl-Independent on Sunday ġurnata qabel intitolat Basics for Coalition Building.

Staqsieni jekk kontx tal-fehma li invista ta’ dak li ktibt kien hemm bażi raġonevoli biex niltaqgħu il-PN u l-AD ħalli naraw jekk hemmx lok għal ftehim. Wara li tkellimt ma Arnold Cassola jiena tajtu risposta posittiva.

Imma wara li għaddiet ġimgħa u ma smajt xejn għidt li ma jridux jafu.

Għaddew 10 ġimgħat sakemm it-Tnejn 24 t’April ċempilli Mario de Marco biex niltaqgħu u fil-fatt iltqajna nhar il-Ġimgħa 28 t’April, wara biss erbat ijiem.

Dan qed ngħidu biex min qed jaħseb li qagħda nittratjenu u ħallejna għall-aħħar jifhem li dan mhux il-każ.

Għad baqa’ ftit siegħat ċans biex jintlaħaq ftehim. Tajjeb li nifhmu li n-nuqqas ta’ qbil hu fuq raġuni waħda. Mhux dwar l-isem kif qed jingħad. Imma dwar il-fatt li l-kandidati kollha tal-koalizzjoni jeħtieġihom jippreżentaw ruħhom bħala kandidati tal-PN fuq il-lista elettorali tal-PN kif jgħid il-ftehim bejn il-PN u l-Partit Demokratiku ta’ Marlene Farrugia.

Dan il-ftehim jinjora faxxa kbira ta’ votanti li lesti jivvutaw kontra l-partit ta’ Joseph Muscat imma mhux favur il-Partit Nazzjonalista. L-unika soluzzjoni hi lista elettorali separata mill-partiti li jiffurmaw il-koalizzjoni.

Il-PN għandu document ta’ tmien paġni imħejji minn AD li jispjega kif dan kollu jista’ jsir.

Baqa’ ftit siegħat.

Meta ma jkunx għad baqa’ ħin nittama li ħadd ma jiġi jeqred.

Reflecting political diversity

 

 

On Friday afternoon, delegations from Alternattiva Demokratika and Partit Nazzjonalista met to discuss whether – and if so to what extent – it would be possible to forge a pre-electoral alliance between the two political parties in view of the forthcoming general election.

Earlier in the day, the PN delegation had briefed the press on the approval by the PN Executive Committee on Thursday of an agreement between the PN and the Democratic Party of Marlene Farrugia.

AD has always been in favour of building a pre-electoral alliance. Such an alliance is necessitated by a weakness in one or more of the major political players, in this case the PN. The state of play of the electoral rules lead to the need of a pre-electoral alliance but so far, however, this is unchartered territory.

AD has criticised the PN in the past, and will continue to criticise it whenever it considers such criticism necessary.  The PN has been criticised by AD for its performance in office as well as for the discrepancies between what it declares as its beliefs and how it then subsequently acts. Such criticism does not exclude the possibility of cooperating with the PN and the possibility of considering the forging of an electoral alliance, provided the right conditions are created.

AD has criticised the PN for not properly handling its MPs.

Claudio Grech’s declaration that he did not recollect ever meeting George Farrugia of oil corruption fame is incredulous: yet Simon Busuttil did not take him to task publicly on the matter. It was necessary, but he did not do it. As a result, Simon Busuttil gave the clear message that he is weak when dealing with his MPs when they are evasive. This is not acceptable.

Nor was Beppe Fenech Adami chastised for his error of judgement in relation to the directorship  of Capital One Ltd: he should not be immune to disciplinary action.

Mario Demarco’s db consultancy ended up one notch higher, with an apology – a rare event in Maltese politics.  But Simon Busuttil’s role in the fake invoice debacle is still pending and he must come to terms with the facts at the earliest possible opportunity.

Toni Bezzina’s ODZ experiences, whilst pontificating on the merits of environmental protection, were also swept under the carpet by Simon Busuttil.

AD would have preferred to deal with a PN which does not come with this baggage, but everyone knows that this is not possible. To exacerbate matters, the Labour Party – the alternative – is much worse.

The Labour Party is in absolute shambles. This fact should not lead to the erasure or absolution of the PN’s misdemeanours: they are, and will remain, on the books, acting as a constant reminder of what should be avoided. But certainly they should never be forgotten. This is part of the baggage that the PN will bring to a pre-electoral alliance.

When considering the setting up of a pre-electoral alliance, one must understand that the result will be much more than the summing up of the individual parts. It should certainly denote a change in attitude and philosophy and should be accompanied by an appropriate name that reflects the new direction planned.   

The selection of an appropriate name for the pre-electoral alliance is of paramount importance as it is the first indicator of a willingness to change. In addition, it has to be a true reflection of the political diversity in the DNA of the proposed alliance. It is only with clear signs of the will to change that voters will consider supporting the alliance.

Agreement on the general political principles that should guide the alliance is encouraging. These are primarily institutional and governance issues but also matters of basic environmental concern and governance.

At Friday’s meeting AD presented the PN with a detailed and specific proposal that set the tone of the discussion.  

The identified stumbling block was the name of the proposed pre-electoral alliance. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party of Marlene Farrugia – most probably due to the inexperience of those advising her – did not realise the significance of the matter. She did not realise that accepting the PN as the alliance to which the Democratic Party was to be appended, was a very wrong signal.

The name should reflect the nature of the alliance: an umbrella organisation of separate and independent political parties cooperating in the political project of reconstructing Malta’s shattered institutions.  One thing should, however, be clear to everyone: AD will not be an appendage in the proposed alliance. AD will be an active and critical partner and not a subservient appendage.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday – 30 April 2017

 

Dawk li ma jridux jivvutaw lill-PN

 

Hemm diversi li qed jiktbulna biex jistaqsu dwar x’inhi s-sitwazzjoni dwar il-possibilitá ta’ alleanza/koalizzjoni mal-PN fl-elezzjoni ġenerali li jmiss.

Uħud huma iħawwdin minħabba informazzjoni u kummenti żbaljati li hemm min qed ixerred.

Biex inkun ċar ser nispjega fil-qosor:

1.       Dak li qed jipproponi l-PN hu li l-ismijiet tal-kandidati kollha tal-koalizzjoni jidhru fuq il-lista PN, jiġifieri taħt il-maduma.

2.       Għal uħud dan m’hu problema xejn.

3.       Imma għal diversi, inkluż diversi minn dawk li sal-lum ivvutaw Labour u qed jikkunsidraw jivvutaw lill-koalizzjoni (partikolarment lill-AD u l-PD bħala membri tal-koalizzjoni) : taqbadhom ir-rogħda u rabja kbira meta jaraw il-maduma tal-PN quddiemhom u qatt m’huma ser jaslu biex jivvutaw kandidat li ismu jkun fil-lista tal-PN. Dan in-numru ta’ votanti qed jikber bil-minuti.

4.       Dan ifisser li jistgħu jintilfu ħafna voti ta’ persuni li lesti jivvutaw lill-koalizzjoni imma ma jridux imissu mal-PN.

Huwa għalhekk li Alternattiva Demokratika qed tinsisti li l-koalizzjoni tkun organizzata b’mod differenti, taħt isem ieħor. Dan la hu kapriċċ u l-anqas tfettieq. U dan apparti diversi argumenti oħra.

Sfortunatament s’issa l-PN ma jridx jiċċaqlaq u wisq nibża’ li hemm resistenza kbira għal dan. Ikun tajjeb jekk tħabbtu fuq il-bieb tal-Partit Nazzjonalista u tgħidulu jiċċaqlaq mingħajr iktar dewmien. 

Nibnu l-pontijiet ………. imma fuq pedamenti addattati

 

Kif ħabbar il-Malta Today dal-għodu, l-Partit Nazzjonalista talab biex jiltaqa’ ma’ Alternattiva Demokratika bl-iskop li jkun identifikat jekk hux possibli li jkun hemm xi forma ta’ kooperazzjoni bejn iż–żewġ partiti, u dan fid-dawl tal-qagħda politika preżenti.

Qatt m’hu ħażin li titkellem, anke jekk ma daqqa t’għajn jidhru li hemm differenzi mhux żgħar.

Kif anke ġie kkwotat Mario de Marco mill-Malta Today, il-kooperazzjoni li jrid il-PN hi dwar il-lista elettorali! Il-PN diġa kważi wasal għal ftehim mal-Partit Demokratiku ta’ Marlene Farrugia biex possibilment il-kandidati ta’ dak il-partit jdhru fil-lista elettorali taħt l-isem tal-Partit Nazzjonalista. Il-PN u l-PD, dan l-eżerċizzju qed isejħulu koalizzjoni.

Fil-fehma tiegħi dan hu kollox barra koalizzjoni.

Alternattiva Demokratika sejra għal-laqgħa mal-PN b’moħħ miftuħ, bla preġudizzji imma b’ideat ċari kif diġa kelli l-opportunita li nispjega fuq dan il-blog matul il-ġimgħat li għaddew.

Il-bierah, tard fil-għaxija, f’diskussjoni fuq  it-telefon li kelli ma Karol Aquilina, President tal-Kunsill Amministrattv, Mario de Marco Viċi Kap tal-PN u Simon Busuttil innifsu, ftehmna li l-laqgħa esploratorja bejn l-AD u l-PN issir nhar il-Ġimgħa li ġejja.

Ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika sejrin għal din il-laqgħa b’rieda tajba, lesti li nagħtu l-kontribut tagħna biex jinbnew il-pontijiet. Imma l-ewwel irridu naċċertaw ruħna li l-pedamenti huma addattati.

Prof. Josef Lauri asked me : so what is the solution ? My answer.

 

 

The basic difficulties for the formation of a coalition, as I view them, are three :

1^st: there is an issue of credibility. The PN is not credible when it speaks against corruption and in favour of good governance, unless it clears the deck and solves its current issues, as highlighted in my article published today: Coalition building: beyond the arithmetic.

2^nd : there is the format in which a coalition could take shape: forming part of the PN is no coalition at all, it is also not acceptable to AD; it is possible to form a separate structure specifically for the elections, but time is running out for such an option;

3^rd : there are various issues of policy in respect of which there may be sharp disagreement, particularly in respect of environmental issues.  The proposed tunnel between Malta and Gozo, and the proposed car-racing track as well as spring hunting, all of which are supported by the PN but which are objectionable in principle to AD readily come to mind. There are also a number of other issues of a social and economic nature which could also be contentious.

 

All the above requires considerable time and goodwill, both of which are in short supply.

 

(The above is a reply I gave on one of my blogposts in reply to a question by Prof. Josef Lauri earlier today.)

Coalition building: beyond the arithmetic

It is pretty obvious that the primary – and possibly the only – objective that the Nationalist Party seeks to attain through its proposed “coalition” is to numerically surpass the Labour Party when the first count votes are tallied after  the forthcoming general election. Should this materialise, it could be a stepping stone on the basis of which, possibly, it could return to office on its own or in coalition.

The rest, that is to say beyond the first count vote tally, is all a necessary evil for the PN.

In contrast, Alternattiva Demokratika’s objectives go beyond arithmetic. Alternattiva Demokratika favours a principle-based coalition, ethically driven,  in conscious preference to a pragmatic-based one that is driven exclusively by arithmetic considerations.

A principle-based coalition asks questions and demands answers continuously. The path to be followed to elect the first Green MPs is just as important as the objective itself. This is not simply  a minor inconsequential detail: it is a fundamental difference in approach.

Alternattiva Demokratika is continuously being tempted to discard its principled approach on the basis of a possible satisfactory result being within reach: now is the time, we are told, to join Simon Busuttil’s coalition in the national interest.  

Alternattiva Demokratika has always given way to the national interest. It is definitely in the national interest to discard (at the earliest possible opportunity) the two-party system that is the cause of the current political mess. In this context, at AD we do not view the PN (or the PL for that matter) as a solution. Both are an intrinsic part of the problem. Even if they are not exactly equivalent, together they are the problem. Parliament has been under the control of the two-party system  without interruption for the past 52 years. This is ultimately responsible for the current state of affairs as, due to its composition, Parliament has been repeatedly unable to hold the government of the day to account.

It is the worst kind of political dishonesty to pretend that the PN is whiter than white when criticising the Labour Party’s gross excesses during the past four years. Labour has been capable of creating the current mess because the last PN-led government left behind quasi-toothless institutions, such that, when push came to shove, these institutions were incapable of biting back against abuse in defence of Maltese society: so much for the PN’s commitment to good governance.

The PN is also  still haunted by its own gross excesses including:

1) Claudio Grech’s incredible declaration on the witness stand in Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that he did not recollect ever meeting George Farrugia during the development of the oil sales scandal, George Farrugia being the mastermind  behind it all.   

2) Beppe Fenech Adami’s role in the nominee company behind the Capital One Investment Group/Baltimore Fiduciary Services . In quasi similar circumstances, former Labour Party Treasurer Joe Cordina was forced to resign and was withdrawn as a general election candidate.

3) Mario DeMarco’s error of judgement (with Simon Busuttil’s blessing) in accepting the brief of Silvio Debono’s db Group in relation to the provision of advisory legal services on the Group’s acquisition from Government of land at Pembroke, currently the site of the Institute for Tourism Studies, and this when his duty a Member of Parliament was to subject the deal to the minutest scrutiny and thereby hold government to account.

4) Toni Bezzina’s application for a proposed ODZ Villa at the same time that, together with others, he was drafting an environment policy document on behalf of the PN in which document he proposed that this should henceforth  be prohibited.

5) Simon Busuttil’s alleged attempt to camouflage political donations as payment for fictitious services by his party’s commercial arm, thereby circumventing the Financing of Political Parties Act.

How can the Nationalist Party be credible by declaring itself as the rallying point in favour of good governance and against corruption when it took no serious action to clean up its own ranks? Apologies are a good start but certainly not enough: heads must roll.

A coalition with a PN that closes more than one eye to the above is bound to fail, as the behaviour of the PN and its leadership is clearly and consistently diametrically opposed to its sanctimonious declarations.

These are very serious matters: they need to be suitably and satisfactorily addressed as a pre-condition to the commencement of any coalition talks.  Time is running out and this is being stated even before one proceeds to identify and spell out the red lines – ie the issues that are non-negotiable.

Addressing the arithmetic issues concerning the general election and then ending up with a “new” government with such an ambivalent attitude to good governance would mean that we are back to the point from which we started.    Nobody in his right mind would want that and Alternattiva Demokratika would certainly not support such double speak.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday – 16 April 2017