The recent controversy surrounding the proposal to revise the pensions systems for MPs has thankfully been resolved in the best way possible – and this is the withdrawal of the amendments which were to see MPs given the right to a full-pension even if they serve for one term in the House of Representatives.
As it is now – and how it will remain – they require a service of two terms to benefit from a pension, which is already low when compared to what common mortals have to work for in order to receive theirs at the end of their career. But, at least, it was realised that reducing MP service by half was an idea that should be discarded. And it was.
The role of the Partit Demokratiku must be highlighted in this regard. Of course, if the Nationalist Party had not taken up the cue and, in the words of leader Adrian Delia, listened to the people, the reform would have passed anyway. But it was initially the PD that brought the matter to public attention even because, as the PD said several times, the two major parties had tried to change the system "by stealth".
At this point, it is easy to say that the government emerges as the biggest loser. Its statement when it announced the withdrawal of the amendments "blamed" the opposition for withdrawing its support, which in other words means that Labour wanted the changes to go through. After all, Joseph Muscat himself threw all his weight behind the idea. Having said this, with all its advantage, Labour can afford a dent here and there.
The PD, on the other hand, was immediately against the idea and took every opportunity it could to denounce it. In spite of not having taken part in the House debate, what its exponents Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia said afterwards in the media brought the issue to the fore. Until then, the way the PL and PN had worked had kept the issue way below the public radar. It was only thanks to the Farrugias that public sentiment started to be heard – with most of it against the idea, including a poll on The Malta Independent website which had over 94% of respondents rejecting the amendments.
The PD representation in Parliament may be small, but it has been quite effective. Its contribution to the debate on the Bulebel industrial estate expansion – 'gbejna' jibe included – has been instrumental, and its interest in the fuel station policy has also added value to the public debate.
The PD has increasingly become a strong environmental voice to be reckoned with. The party must however be careful about this. It does not want to end up just like any other NGO which speaks up on environmental issues, and be perceived to be just interested in green matters.
This is why the young political party should take its victory on the MPs' pension as a first step towards the widening of its horizons.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2G0QOZh
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