Watch our alternative Christmas calendar, featuring ’20 Proposals for a cleaner Republic’ by Repubblika, Occupy Justice Malta and Manuel Delia
2 – Watching the watchers
In November 2021, a committee of MPs agreed that one of them, Rosianne Cutajar, behaved unethically when she covered up a property deal involving Yorgen Fenech.
But the committee, whose job is it to protect the collective reputation of all parliamentarians, disagreed on how Cutajar should be sanctioned.
The majority decision was to send her a letter reprimanding her. The law allowed them to do much more.
Why were they so weak? Because the committee is made of a majority of MPs belonging to the government side.
It’s difficult for people who hold the power to sanction their colleagues in their own party.
Other countries have solved this. In the UK, MPs subject themselves to the scrutiny of outside experts so that when one of them messes up, the rest don’t go down with them.
When parliamentarians break ethical rules, their case should be examined by ordinary citizens.
Persons from outside Parliament – who know ethical rules of behaviour – should be brought in to provide independent and transparent vigilance.
Written by Manuel Delia
Video Production & Voiceover: Michael Kaden
