The inevitability of gradualness has pushed the Maltese electorate willy-nilly close to the polling booths. The decision as to who will be delegated to pilot the Maltese ship of state for the next five years cannot be delayed for long.
I would say the sooner the better, because the challenge facing Malta in a fast-moving globalised world demands a hands-on government with resolve
Malta has been in the charge of the same Nationalist administration since l987, save for a span of 20 months between l996 and l998. During that period, its vicissitudes brought it into confrontation with adversity, due in part, but not exclusively to upheavals in the international market place.
One can argue about the nature and scale of these adversities, but there is no room for argument on the end result.
Years of persistent overspending have saddled the economy with a structural deficit and mountainous debt, all of which continue to plague our island economy. Worst of all is that past efforts to recover from this plight necessitated punishing taxation – and the tax burden is, in turn, a serious impediment to economic recuperation.

Prime challenge
Malta’s main (and urgent) challenge at this point in time is to devise a programme of economic recuperation. The economy needs to grow. It must enhance its ability to compete. It is time for politicians to stop bickering, and for businessmen and workers interested in their survival, to stop moaning and to be proactive.
If our effort to regenerate economic and social activity is to have a dog’s chance, all those with a stake in Malta’s economy will have to be open-minded and amenable to change.
This applies to politicians and to the social partners in equal measure. In a climate of tolerance and consensus, the cross-pollination of ideas could yield positive results.
It is the social partners in particular, and civil society in general, that have the highest stake. Whether or not there will be an active and spirited national debate during the impending election campaign will indicate to what extent public opinion is on the alert, whether opinion leaders are comatose, and whether Malta could produce the leadership that justifies and deserves national confidence.
There ARE grounds for confidence in Malta’s potential to achieve sustainable growth. Malta rose to the occasion, against not inconsiderable odds, when it switched from a fortress to a market economy on attaining independent status.

Lost momentum
The momentum achieved at that time has been lost. Malta now needs all hands on deck, and everything depends on our ability to remain competitive in a world of unforgiving competition.
Much depends on whether the political parties and the social partners will focus on the common quest for forward movement.
I believe that the electoral mood will favour those who concentrate on the nitty-gritty and steer away from political in-fighting.
In my personal view, a vital aspect worthy of national debate is the quality and managerial competence of the higher echelons of the Maltese civil service, which is the chief human instrument of state power available to politicians, and the “software” of our system of governance.
Politicians might find ways to agree on new experiments and new initiatives. But, whoever is in office will have to depend on the managerial skills or otherwise of public servants paid to do the job

Overpowering politicians
There are competent public servants in the ranks, but there are others less qualified and even less disposed to assert their authority. There have been isolated incidents when public servants of integrity stood up to encroachments on their prerogatives. Unfortunately, they were crushed rather than rewarded.
The Maltese civil service distinguished itself during the trying conditions of the last world war. They were able to cope with the formidable challenge of post-war social and economic development. Unfortunately, some things have changed for the worse.
In large part, this deterioration was brought about by the arrival of overpowering politicians intent on usurping power for their own personal aggrandizement. We have reached a stage where Ministers manage to usurp civil service functions and some, if not all, of their top civil servants play the role of willing stooges. Such situations are ugly to behold.
Setting aside the issue of competence, integrity and authority, the topography of the Maltese bureaucratic landscape has changed with the emergence of several agencies authorities and quangos. What was once intended to be a unified service, has thus been fragmented and is being manipulated from quarters removed from direct parliamentary scrutiny.

Political encroachment
Under ideal conditions, the civil service should act as a permanent piece of ballast in the Constitution, on the basis that one can have a very volatile legislature and an equally volatile ministerial executive – a situation that calls for a high degree of balance and permanence.
This state of affairs prevailed for long periods in post-independence Malta, and the Civil Service as a whole failed to stand up to political encroachment. It opted to hunt with the hounds and run like a rabbit. It lost its élan, never to retrieve it. Excessive interference by domineering politicians, and by faceless, unelected interlopers,. operating from far-away places under the wing of wily politicians, led to the abdication of responsibility by various high civil servants.
At the risk of repeating myself, I submit that, deplorable though all this might be, it should not be allowed to mask the reality that, by and large, the Maltese civil service has not produced an abundance of top-notch managers and administrators.

Bureaucratic rot
An efficient bureaucracy needs top people with initiative and vision, who can take decisions and provide leadership.
In spite of launching a major, very expensive reform, more than 13 years ago, the Civil Service never came round to delivering the goods. It has been found wanting because of a lack of managerial acumen. The bureaucratic rot has eaten its way into the heart of an otherwise healthy apple.
The solutions have to be found in Malta. They do not depend on additional structures or the intervention of new and more expensive ways to feather the nest of compliant yes-men.
The decisive sorting out has to be done by the stakeholders in Malta’s future, with the willing involvement of the whole spectrum of the political class.
The alternative is a clear and present danger to Malta’s survival.