‘Let civil society NGOs elect their representatives on ECOSOC’

Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party is asking the government to allow civil society to elect its representative on the ECOSOC committee in Brussels

Prof. Arnold Cassola, AD Spokesperson on EU and International affairs, stated: “We ask the Commissioner of NGOs Prof. Wain to insist with government that Maltese NGOs elect their representative on ECOSOC and not have the representative nominated by Government itself, as has happened till now”.

‘In this day and age active participation by civil society implies a more open attitude by the government, that must release its control on issues which do not fall under the government’s direct responsibility’.

Michael Briguglio, Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson, added:’In October 2010 the new four-year term of the European Economic and Social Committee, the influential civil-society consultative body to the EU institutions, begins. By the end of February 2010 the Maltese government has to present its list of candidates to the EU. Prime Minister Gonzi should show his government’s commitment to openness, transparency and pluralism by giving Maltese Civil Society the possibility to vote for its own representatives itself’.

arnoldcassola@gmail.com

No Council of State before the Reform of the electoral system

Monday, 21st December 2009

Arnold Cassola

President George Abela has proposed the setting up of a Council of State made up of former Presidents, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Both PN and PL agree on this.

I believe this has the potential of being a useful tool for the furthering of democracy in our country. But it is certainly not the most pressing issue at the moment.

It is useless setting up a Council of State before the electoral system has been reformed to ensure true pluralism and proper proportionality among all voters.

Fourteen months ago the Maltese Parliament Select Committee asked for proposals on the reform of the electoral system and the financing of political parties. Fourteen months ago Alternattiva Demokratika met with the Speaker to give its proposals.

After 14 months we have not received a single word of comment on our proposals… and we are still waiting.

The Speaker has now promised to meet with AD again in February. Let us hope that by then things will have moved on.

When the electoral system has been reformed in a truly pluralistic direction, we can then start talking about a Council of State.

SEPARATISM, ITALIAN STYLE

Separatist movements in Europe have a history of violence, but in Italy they rely on political blackmail instead

Many separatist movements in Europe have resorted to various violent terrorist acts since the second half of the 20th century. From the 1960s onwards, bombs and death were the order of the day in regions such as Northern Ireland, Corsica (France), South Tyrol (Italy) and the Basque country (Spain).

Now, the spectre of violent separatism has reared its head again in Spain. The Basque terrorist organisation ETA has ended its truce with the Spanish government and, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding, placed bombs in the town of Burgos and on the island of Mallorca.

Fortunately, elsewhere in Europe, reason seems to prevail nowadays and the resort to violence has been curtailed. But that does not mean the end of separatism. Italy, for example, is under constant threat of cultural and economic separatism, albeit in a peaceful way.

Silvio Berlusconi’s ally in government, the Lega Nord (Northern League), is continuously conjuring up schemes to embarrass the national government with threats to the concept of national unity.

The Lega Nord, led by the charismatic Umberto Bossi, holds the decisive votes in parliament to keep the Berlusconi government afloat. It uses this power to blackmail the government into introducing measures which discriminate between citizens of Italy’s north and south.

Exponents of the Northern League, such as MEP Mario Borghezio, MP Roberto Cota and Senator Federico Bricolo, are well-known for their xenophobic statements in parliament, particularly against those from non-EU countries. But their chauvinism does not stop there: they constantly propose measures to discriminate between northern Italian citizens from Veneto or Lombardy and southerners from Naples, Calabria or Sicily.

During this summer of “separatist” folly, the first proposal concerned the appointment of headmasters of schools in the Veneto region: the local councillors in the province of Vicenza approved a measure to reserve all headmaster posts in the province for northern Italian teachers.

At the end of July, another Lega Nord MP, Paola Goisis, proposed in parliament that teachers from Italy’s south should not be allowed to teach in northern schools unless they are well-versed in the history, traditions and dialects of the area where the school is located. The Italian minister for education, Mariastella Gelmini, agreed to discuss the proposal.

The third attack on Italian unity was launched at the beginning of August by Federico Bricolo, president of the Lega Nord group in the Senate, who proposed adding a proviso to Article 12 of the Italian constitution whereby the flags and anthems of the different regions would be officially recognised on an equal footing with the national anthem and flag.

The Lega Nord’s latest provocation is its proposal that state employees receive different salaries for the same job, depending on whether they live in the north or the south. Agriculture minister Luca Zaia has gone so far as to argue that relating salaries to the cost of living in different regions will force the south to be self-sufficient and stop relying on help from the north.

This proposal seems to have found a certain degree of support from Berlusconi, though he would likely be the only one in the country to agree with it. The trade unions, employers’ associations, all opposition political parties and even many of Berlusconi’s own MPs have united against what they consider to be an aberration.

Zaia’s vivid imagination does not stop there: he has now proposed that popular Italian TV series be dubbed or subtitled in the local dialect. And Berlusconi, consumed as he is with defending his difficult position as the main protagonist in a seemingly endless soap opera of sex scandals, is not capable of reining in such blatant provocations on the part of the Lega Nord.

The result is that Berlusconi’s supposed allies such as former minister Gianfranco Micciche and the current governor of Sicily, Raffaele Lombardo, are seriously thinking of setting up a “Party of the South” to ensure that Italy’s southern regions have enough clout to withstand the Lega Nord’s onslaught.

Whether such plans materialise remains to be seen. What seems certain is that, unlike in Spain, Italy’s separatist movements are gaining ground through a bloodless revolution. Mao was wrong: political blackmail seems to be a more effective tool than the barrel of a gun.

Arnold Cassola is a former secretary-general of the European Green party and a former Italian MP

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2009

BERLUSCONI AND PUTIN’S BED

Wednesday, 12th August 2009

Berlusconi, and Putin’s bed

Arnold Cassola
arnoldcassola@gmail.com

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s political and sexual exploits make headlines around the world, and not just in the tabloid press. These stories would be no more than funny – which they are certainly are – if they were not so damaging to Italy and revelatory of the country’s immobile politics.

For, despite the rampant scandals, “national Silvio” (Il Silvio Nazionale) remains by far Italy’s most popular and successful politician (though his approval ratings have now dipped below the 50 per cent mark in opinion polls for the first time since his second return to the premiership in 2008).

Part of the reason for Mr Berlusconi’s longevity despite his many stumbles is cultural. As in other Latin or Mediterranean countries with a strong Catholic tradition, Italian society long ago learned to accept serenely a life of duplicity: on the one hand, a strong attachment to church and family values, and on the other a second life – often lived in plain sight – composed of mistresses and other “dubious” connections.

Today’s Italian Catholic political leaders often embrace such a lifestyle. In recent years, aside from Berlusconi himself, other divorcés like Centrist Catholic Party Leader Pier Ferdinando Casini and Parliament Speaker Gianfranco Fini could easily deliver passionate speeches in the morning on the importance of the traditional family unit and the sacredness of marriage, attend a touching audience with the Pope in the afternoon, and then rush off in the evening to their unmarried partners and mothers of their latest offspring.

Italian society’s tacit acceptance of such behaviour has become more openly acknowledged in recent years, thanks perhaps to Mr Berlusconi and his vast media holdings. In the 1970s, the average Italian working-class family’s major ambition for its children was for them to study, go to university, and become a doctor or a lawyer.

Since the late 1970s, and especially during the 1980s and 1990s, Mr Berlusconi’s three private TV channels have portrayed a false and illusory model of quick success, as seen in American soap operas such as Dallas. Since the 1990s, his channels broadcast Big Brother and Italian variety shows dominated by male comedians, musclemen, and scantily clad young girls, popularly known as veline.

In the space of just 30 years, Mr Berlusconi’s TV stations managed to impose this illusory portrait of success on Italian society. And today, the ambition of many working-class Italian mothers is to see their daughters become a successful scantily clad velina who, in turn, manages to hit the gossip columns by flirting with the latest muscleman-turned-TV heartthrob or some budding young football player. Graduating as a doctor or a lawyer is no longer a mark of success.

Despite his lack of muscles and hair, Mr Berlusconi is the embodiment of this form of success. The former cabaret singer who became one of the richest businessman in the world, has also managed to become Italy’s most powerful politician – and one of the world’s most colourful. Until a few weeks ago, the average Italian viewed him as a role model, someone who had succeeded in many spheres of life.

That has now changed. People have become less admiring of Mr Berlusconi, because the hypocrisy has gone too far. It may be trendy for an Italian politician to flaunt his Mediterranean macho image, but that image becomes hard to stomach when the Prime Minister launches a campaign to eradicate street prostitution, with possible jail sentences for clients, while allegedly sleeping with paid escorts.

Nor are Italians reassured to learn that Mr Berlusconi fielded a number of candidates during the recent European Parliament elections whose only discernible qualification was that they were pretty young girls who had possibly spent some time in the Prime Minister’s company at his Sardinian Villa or Roman Palazzo.

Today, it seems all but certain that Mr Berlusconi will never be elected President of Italy, the post to which he has always aspired. Moreover, rumours are rife that he is now being attacked for his behaviour by members of his own party. Indeed, some maintain that Mr Berlusconi will be forced to resign as prime minister by the end of the year.

Such rumours may well turn out to be true, for the heart of the scandal now concerns the taped conversations between a paid escort and Mr Berlusconi during their alleged romps in his Sardinian villa on the big bed given to him by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. A downfall plotted to happen on a Kremlin-supplied bed would be a denouement that not even one of Mr Berlusconi’s TV channels could dream up.

The author is a former Secretary General of the European Green Party and a former member of the Italian Parliament.

© Project Syndicate, 2009. www.project-syndicate.org

PN Government opportunistic on Parental Leave – AD

Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party expressed its opposition to Government’s objection to the immediate introduction of extended parental leave, which is being proposed by the European Commission.

Michael Briguglio, spokesperson for Social and Economic Development, said:’There is a substantial contrast between the Nationalist Government’s pro-family rhetoric and its opposing the reinforcement of family-friendly measures which are being proposed within the EU. Malta is at the bottom of the European list on various social policies. For example, it grants the lowest parental leave entitlement in the European Union, and the Nationalist Government is scaremongering against the introduction of an extension of maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks’.

‘Extended parental leave is essential for increased social justice, particularly in a time when work conditions are progressively getting worse, particularly in the private sector. This basic right not only encourages women to enter the labour market, but can also bring about more equality within families, where both men and women are involved in employment and caring roles, and where families have more time to spend with their newborns’, added Briguglio.

Yvonne Arqueros Ebejer, spokesperson for Civil Rights, added:’Before the European Parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that Malta is in favour of extended maternity leave provided that there will be a level playing field. Now it transpires that this was just an opportunistic slogan, as Social Policy Minsiter John Dalli was reported by the Times as telling his European Counterparts that ‘we not feel it is opportune to take certain measures, including the extension of maternity leave with immediate effect’.

‘Family policy should not be subject to opportunistic electioneering. To the contrary, Government should immediately increase parental leave, which is a basic social right, and in the meantime tap EU set up a fund to offset partially expenses incurred by employers’, added Arqueros Ebejer.

Sahara energy connection

The Times, Wednesday, 8th July 2009

Sahara energy connection

Arnold Cassola

A report on The Times says that “Malta is extremely reliant on electrical energy and, according to a study, it is the EU state most dependent on this form of power to service the country. The majority of Maltese households – 70.2 per cent – were fully dependent on electrical energy for their needs, from heating to cooking and using electrical appliances, according to Eurostat figures for 2007.

“The remaining 29.8 per cent of households were still able to cope without an electricity supply as they used ‘other petroleum products’, such as bottled gas or paraffin, for some of their cooking or heating needs.

“Malta is the only member state which still produces all its energy requirements through burning fuel oil and gas, which explains why the islands recently came to a standstill when the power stations shut down.”

In Malta we do have a veritable energy problem. But what are we doing about it? We at Alternattiva Demokratika have long had our vision clear on this issue. In 1992, I recall speaking to the then deputy chairman of Enemalta and asking him to get the corporation involved in getting a link to the Algeria-Sicily methane gas pipeline, which is only about 70-80 kilometres away from us. Gas is much cleaner than other fossil fuels, so it always pays to go for gas rather than other petroleum derivatives.

The answer in 1992 was that the pipeline was too expensive to lay and so the whole suggestion was immediately scrapped. The real reason was that Enemalta was (and still is!) the dominant monopoly with regard to energy in Malta. It could price oil and electricity at the level it deemed best and did not relish the idea of getting a gas component to compete against its exclusive dirty oil and diesel monopoly.

Today, of course, things have changed. Malta is really facing an energy crisis and, 17-18 years later, the Maltese government has finally accepted the fact that we have to diversify because what we Greens were stating 15 years ago is completely true: climate change is here to stay. The whole of Europe and the world acknowledges this and, willy nilly, our country has to drastically cut down on its CO2 emissions or else (apart from all the pollution and annexed asthmas, allergies, respiratory diseases and breast cancers concerned) end up paying tens (if not hundreds) of millions of euros in fines to the EU.

Today, the government has started discussing wind farms, incentives for photovoltaic plants, liquid petroleum gas energy and a connection to the Sicilian grid for our energy provisions.

This is all very good and, indeed, necessary. Better late (because of obstinacy not to admit that the Greens were right) than never. But the discussion on connections to the Sicilian electric grid, while undoubtedly useful, is just a short-term measure and nobody in our country has ever mentioned the long-term solution.

AD and I have! We spoke about it during the past year and even more so during the MEP election campaign. But, of course, as usual we were totally ignored by the usual bravi who know it all and just look at the immediate electoral gain rather than the long-term solution.

Then, in 10 years’ time, as usual, some wise Maltese minister in government will come up with the bright novelty… which had been proposed by AD 10 years earlier and pooh poohed by the same minister!

What is this long-term solution? It is the great Sahara project, which the rest of the world is already exploiting while our country’s notables are totally bent on looking at past solutions.

What is the Sahara project? It is called Desertec and it is a €400 billion project that will be launched on Monday in Munich, Germany. The insurance company Munich Re has put together a number of industries to make a dream come true: utilise the abundance of sun in the Sahara desert and, through the use of hundreds of thousands of photovoltaic panels, produce clean energy in Europe.

According to the present plan, as from 2019 (only 10 years from today) the European continent could already get 15 per cent of its energy requirements from solar energy produced in the Sahara desert. Of course, as everything in life, this is an ambitious project that will not solve all our problems immediately, but it is a serious project that is looking at the future and contributing to solve our energy problems in our medium and far future.

Germany has really taken the lead. Waldpolenz (ex-East Germany) has become the second photovoltaic park in the world, producing 40 megawatts. German politicians and scientists believe that solar and wind are the energy industries of the future. According to Eicke Weber, from Friburg Fraunhofer Institute, in 10 years’ time solar energy will cost less than traditional sources of energy.

Italy is also receptive to the Sahara project. A recent study by the Milan polytechnic states that, by 2011, thanks to a generous feed in tariff (as in Germany), Italy will have about 1.2 megawatt energy produced from photovoltaics. Moreover, Italy could become the first country in the world to arrive at an equal price produced via traditional or solar energy.

According to Italian newspapers, the Sicilian capital of Baroque, Noto (where a good number of Maltese have got their second homes) should house one of the biggest photovoltaic plants in the world. The Italian electricity company ENEL is in talks with Muammar Gaddafi with regard to a great project aimed at covering part of the southern Libya desert with solar panels, which would eventually mean cheap energy for the neighbouring African countries and for Italy.

Italy is further away from Libya than Malta. The Maltese always boast of having a special relationship with Libya. With regard to renewable solar energy, Germany, Italy and Libya are calling. Where are you, Malta?

arnoldcassola@gmail.com

No going back on hunting

I was very pleased at the joint press release issued by the united environmental NGOs urging MEP candidates to respect the Birds Directive and to refrain from impossible promised to the hunting lobby.

At AD, we have obviously never made such promises, but it seems that the other political parties are, in a campaign of confusion which aims to distract the electorate from the real issues, and extrapolates from the truth in what is a veritable exercise in misinformation.

This release further convinces me of the independence of our NGOs who, although necessarily courted by all parties and candidates, have still retained their visions and ideals, and have spoken out on what most matters to them and on what determines their role in civil society.

It also shows that early attempts by certain budding candidates to occupy the political space concerning civil society and the environment has failed miserably, mostly because environmental greenwash and posturing are not borne out of conviction, but solely of political expediency.

Whilst not wanting to ride the NGOs wave, I feel proud to declare that AD has always been credible and consistent with regards to environment, and especially the hunting issue. During my campaign, I have frequently met hunters who, although obviously diametrically opposed to our stand, respect us for our beliefs, and feel offended at the continuous attempts at duping them with false promises by other parties and candidates.

One must mention that the ban on spring hunting was one of the first and greatest victories for the majority of the population who believed in the European dream. It seems however that some candidates and particular parties want to go back on the done deal, or else purport to modify something that cannot be.

I trust that the electorate considers this fact in the polling booth, and realises who the most credible and consistent party on this matter was.

http://www.alternattiva2009.eu

Campaigning by confusion

In order to discredit their political opponents, certain PN exponents selectively extrapolated random facts from the complex process of the European Parliament vote, so as to mislead public opinion ”

The title may say it all, and I will be returning to it in greater detail. But today I would like to delve into the PN’s latest tactic: economising on the truth in order to confuse the electorate.

There have been many occasions of this tactic from day one, but the latest one has been the dishonest spin with regards to granting voting rights to immigrants. In order to discredit their political opponents, certain PN exponents selectively extrapolated random facts from the complex process of the European Parliament vote, so as to mislead public opinion.

The PN are misleading when giving the impression that illegal and irregular migrants will be given the right to vote. Wrong. It is only legal migrants, with regular residence permits, after living a number of years in the country, who would be given the right to vote.

The PN are misleading when they suggest that migrants would vote at national elections. Wrong. Legal migrants would be allowed to vote only at local elections and not at national elections.

The PN are misleading when they give the impression that our country would be forced to give the above-mentioned voting rights. Wrong. Each country would decide individually whether to implement this recommendation or not.

One must also mention that, last Monday, the Greens in the European Parliament last Monday voted in the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament to revise the Dublin regulation so that countries like Malta, which are facing disproportionate migratory pressure, benefit from a legally-binding responsibility sharing mechanism, which would allow for the reallocation of immigrants among EU countries. This will ensure that burden sharing is mandatory and not voluntary.

All Green MEPs on the committee, Jean Lambert, Johannes Voggenhuber and Margaret Auken, were present to vote in favour of this measure. One must recall that it was Ms Lambert, in her first parliamentary report on the subject around a year and a half ago, that brought up the need of a revision of the Dublin Convention, following consultations with Alternattiva Demokratika.

On the same day, the Civil Liberties Committee also approved Ms Lambert’s report on the setting up of EASO (European Asylum Support Office). The aim of the setting up of EASO is to provide the necessary expert assistance to help in the delivery of a consistent and high quality Common European Asylum Policy.

Thanks to Ms Lambert, things will change. In her report she has deleted the original reference to the “voluntary” nature of burden or responsibility sharing. Member States will benefit through the introduction of a new support office, not least in the development of mutual confidence and sharing of responsibility with smaller states like Malta.

It is still sad however to see how this migration issue is being handled by some politicians in the Nationalist Party, mostly through wilful transmission of this misleading information for a handful of votes.

I am very disappointed at the fact that the PN has shown no qualms in sowing the seeds of racial hatred in our country, and is playing with fire when undermining the general unity shown by democratic parties with regards to the immigration problem, while showing itself ready to sacrifice our country’s social stability to the egoistic needs of the party.

http://www.alternattiva2009.eu

An experienced team

“ Our electoral slogan is made up of three simple words: ENERGY, EXPERIENCE, EUROPE ”

I must say that this has been a gruelling but wonderful campaign, and the last month will be as intense. Together with my fellow candidate Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros, we are meeting daily with hundreds of people from different walks of life to discuss the importance of electing a Green MEP come the 6th June.

Our electoral slogan is made up of three simple words: ENERGY, EXPERIENCE, EUROPE. Three simple words that however describe the essence of our campaign, and the characteristics of AD’s political work in the last year. We believe that we are providing a team that has the energy and the experience to help Malta succeed in Europe, and for this reason we have fielded a team that, so to say, combines the ‘old’ and the ‘new’. Yvonne may be a political rookie, but she has shown that she has the necessary mettle to engage with people, listen to their concerns, and inject a humane dimension into a political scene that is often distant from the aspirations of the man in the street.

On the other hand, I humbly present my track record in European Affairs, which culminated in my tenure as Secretary-General of the European Greens. This experience gave me a deep insight into the workings of the European Institutions and made me reaslie that European politics is a matter of consensus and compromise, rather than fruitless and divisive feuding.

A consensus that is brought about by discussion within different political groupings, where one can witness a fine balance between national interests and party ideology. Malta’s limited presence in the EP means that we have a precious representation that must be united and put country first, notwithstanding what their EP political grouping might dictate. I resolve to put this into practice once elected to the European Parliament.

The EP is currently composed of 10 political groupings, and Malta is only represented in two of them. Electing a Green MEP would mean having Malta influencing 50 other MEPs from another political group. Malta will become much stronger with another voice in the European Parliament.

AD has always been a pro-European party and has stood consistent to its beliefs. The Maltese and Gozitans recognised this and had rewarded us with 23,000 first count votes (which then rose to 29,000 with later preferences) in 2004.

This is a tighter election but I’m still confident that we can continue spreading our message and convincing people that electing a Green MEP is a good deal.

Chaos at the Freeport?

Any prospected disruption of work at the Freeport is absolutely unacceptable, especially in this period of grave economic uncertainty for the country and the whole international community.
Why have we reached this point? Because of a simple issue concerning Union membership recognition.
Well, it is absolute folly that things should escalate this way.
On the other hand, it was a grave mistake on the part of the government officials today to call in one by one the workers at Freeport to declare their membership on a face to face basis. This is a grave mistake, an abuse of workers’ rights and should not be tolerated. Just the same as when in 1997 the Alfred Sant led government used the same tactic with the UĦM.
The solution to the whole impasse is very simple: just have a secret ballot amongst the workers and within two hours we will know which Union has a majority.
But stop putting the country’s economy in jeopardy.

arnoldcassola@gmail.com