I believe that if we want to ‘fix the republic’, we should first try to understand the status of Malta’s democracy. We should ground our analysis into the realities of a small island state.
We should give due importance to evidence-based social scientific analysis of its social structures and networks, but also of agency, of people’s everyday lives, affiliations, aspirations, concerns, identities, commonalities, differences and plural realities. We should investigate the intersection of political, economic, cultural, social, ecological and other factors.
Such analyses can nourish concrete proposals for change such as Constitutional Reform. We should ensure that the constitution gives due importance to Malta’s small size: For example, the proximity of politicians to electors, the multiple hats people wear, and the personalisation of politics cannot be ignored.
The methodology of constitutional reform should foster deliberation. To-date it is not clear what type of methodology is being adopted. There should be an expert review of possible methods of consultation; transparency in the analysis of public feedback; peer review of the entire process; and impact assessments of proposals that are followed through. Qualified experts, citizens, civil society, constituted bodies, minorities and political parties should have ample space and time to deliberate, beyond quick fix solutions and sloganeering.
Some areas which I believe should be given priority within constitutional reform include accountable governance, institutional autonomy, finance of political parties and candidates, professionalization of parliament, individual rights and responsibilities, checks and balances, press freedom, political education, structured and evidence-based policy making, the role of civil society and the mainstreaming of sustainable policy.
Through constitutional reform we can help avoiding having Prime Ministers who have excessive power and lack of accountability. But let us also keep in mind that in a liberal democracy a governing formation can only be replaced by another one – and this requires people’s support.
