The end of democratic days

“Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Sir Winston Churchill was both a champion and a critic of democracy. He recognised the importance of “the little man walking into a booth” armed with just a tiny pencil but he also understood the dangers posed by the collective power of “ignorant voters”.

Ignorance signifies a lack of proper understanding while stupidity indicates a refusal or inability to use one’s intellect. The lethal combination of these two elements, along with mass manipulation, is posing a grave threat to democracy today. Let us not kid ourselves – democracy is at risk. We are witnessing the return of autocratic rule.

Some believe that democracy begins and ends with voters’ ability to elect their representatives. This perspective is narrow, simplistic and dangerous. Democracy is about electing a government through popular vote but, equally important, it is about holding that government accountable for its actions.

It is about ensuring that the judiciary and the legislative arms of the state keep the government in check. Some of today’s leaders of the ‘free world’ see the system of checks and balances as an unwanted and unnecessary hindrance.

None regrettably more so than US President Donald Trump.

He does not believe that the judiciary should have the power to stop an elected government. He called for the impeachment of a Washington judge who tried to stop the mass deportation of Venezuelans. Through the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency, he is dismantling state institutions and, in so doing, weakening the arms of government that could keep him in check.

We have observed the same pattern of events in Malta since 2013. One of Joseph Muscat’s first actions after being elected was to dismiss sitting permanent secretaries and replace them with loyalists. This decision was not intended to reward party supporters; instead, it aimed to eliminate any possibility of the public service hindering the government from acting as it pleases.

An impartial civil service would never have approved the Vitals and Electrogas contracts that defrauded the Maltese electorate.

Muscat sought to appoint judges and magistrates from the ranks of the Labour Party. Again, this was not a reward for those appointed to the bench; it was another attempted nail in democracy’s coffin because it sought to destroy the court’s impartiality – a court meant to be independent and seen as independent.

An impartial civil service would never have approved the Vitals and Electrogas contracts that defrauded the Maltese electorate- Mario de Marco

Thankfully, the judiciary has proven to be of sterner stuff. The story, however, did not stop there. A competent police commissioner would have ensured corrupt politicians were thoroughly investigated and brought to justice. Muscat removed police commissioner John Rizzo and replaced him with a string of commissioners who, at best, were inept and, at worst, were in cahoots with their political masters.

The people were forced to resort to magisterial inquiries to seek justice. Prime Minister Robert Abela’s response to this sorry state of affairs was to limit citizens’ right to a magisterial inquiry. He now wants to lead, together with other extre­mist populist leaders, a reform of the European Con­ven­tion of Human Rights to effectively restrict and reduce the safeguards it has offered across Europe for the last 75 years. Yes, democracy is under attack, and we must question why the electorate in Malta and abroad is prepared to support this shift toward authoritarianism.

There is a commonality in the modus operandi of these new authoritarians. They attack ‘the establishment’, conveniently promoting the conspiracy of a hidden, connected dark ring of people and institutions that held power and acted against the public interest. The truth is, of course, that Trump embodies the establishment in the US, just as Abela does in Malta. They create a common enemy – most likely the spectre of invaders, aliens – to justify their draconian actions and need for unlimited powers.

These modern authoritarians criticise the free press as servants of the establishment while constructing their propaganda machine through social media. Social media, though beneficial in many ways, is perhaps the strongest enabler and deceiver of our time.

Where will this lead us? What is the world heading towards? Today, there is effectively little distinction between Vladimir Putin’s words and Trump’s. Substitute Greenland for Ukraine and you will arrive at the same arguments. Europe is trying to grapple with this new reality. There are already countries within the European Union, particularly Hungary, that are singing from the same hymn sheet as Trump.

What worries me most is that dictators know the one thing that will keep them in power: war. It is the best and easiest way to suspend all democratic rule. History teaches us how dictators create threats, politicise them and eventually weaponise them to maintain their regimes. Are we heading again in that direction? If this scenario unfolds, it will not be the traditional enemies fighting against each other. It will be the old and new dictators fighting those who believe that, flawed as it may be, democracy is still worth saving.

Mario de Marco

Mario de Marco is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on tourism.