{"id":3925,"date":"2020-08-19T22:06:25","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T20:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&p=3925"},"modified":"2020-08-19T22:06:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T20:06:25","slug":"il-klijentelizmu-hija-sistema-mdahhla-fil-fond-tal-mentalita-taghna","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/il-klijentelizmu-hija-sistema-mdahhla-fil-fond-tal-mentalita-taghna\/","title":{"rendered":"Clientelism is a system deeply ingrained in our mentality"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The cliental system is ingrained not just in Maltese politics but in the Maltese mentality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Clientelism is one of Malta\u2019s societal ills enabling corruption and endangering democracy. Beneficiaries of\u00a0<\/span>clientelistic<\/span>\u00a0networks do not challenge abuses of power perpetuated by their patrons since clients\u2019 prosperity depends on the patrons\u2019 success.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is undeniable that many people regard politicians\u00a0<\/span>as a means to<\/span>\u00a0an end. It is a system that has been around forever, partly because it is the direct product, not of the two-party system itself,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>but of the electorate\u2019s rapport with politics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of it certainly has to do with the Maltese mentality of putting politicians on pedestals. Our tendency<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0to praise our political heroes and\u00a0<\/span>demonize<\/span>\u00a0our political adversaries, translates directly into a \u2018cult\u2019 of the politician: who, in the popular imagination, comes to wield a near-total authority over the mechanisms of the country.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately,<\/span>\u00a0this perception is also well rooted in fact. Maltese politicians do indeed wield disproportionate power in this respect: they do interfere in matters of public appointments.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The result is a system that breeds hypocrisy, creates inequality and injustice, and debases a person\u2019s dignity. It also makes a mockery of the concept of meritocracy, which all governments are committed to uphold. What we have\u00a0<\/span>in Malta<\/span>\u00a0is not a system based on merit, but one based on whom you know<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

P<\/span>oliticians remain\u00a0<\/span>indebted<\/span>\u00a0to their electors, regardless of any change in government.\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>s long as<\/span>\u00a0we have political appointees running national agencies, this practice will continue plaguing these agencies too, as political pressure is exerted on them in their turn<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All in all, c<\/span>lientelism itself is sustained by the district-based electoral system.\u00a0<\/span>As<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>propagated<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>by<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>social<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>scientists<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>few<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>months<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>ago<\/span>, a<\/span>\u00a0reform to abolish the electoral districts and run elections with one national constituency would\u00a0<\/span>still\u00a0<\/span>be an effective way to weaken clientelism.\u202f<\/span>I<\/span>t is however imperative that this reform\u00a0<\/span>continues to be\u00a0<\/span>supported\u00a0<\/span>publicly<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>debated, and at least attempts to address our many systemic flaws.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The cliental system is ingrained not just in Maltese politics but in the Maltese mentality.\u00a0Clientelism is one of Malta\u2019s societal ills enabling corruption and endangering democracy. Beneficiaries of\u00a0clientelistic\u00a0networks do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3926,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[178],"issuem_issue_categories":[9],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3925"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3925"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3928,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3925\/revisions\/3928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=3925"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=3925"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=3925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}