Strengthening Parliament and Increasing Public Trust: A Call for Parliamentary Reform

“In every thriving democracy, the principles of accountability and transparency serve as the cornerstones of good governance,” said the President of The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Chris Vassallo Cesareo.

This was said during the launch of two publications authored by David Spiteri Gingell titled A Modern Framework for Members of Parliament for 2025 and Beyond – addressing the size of parliament and A New Approach to Malta’s Elections –  a fairer remuneration to MPs.

The Malta Chamber President highlighted that “at the heart of Malta’s democratic system are the Members of Parliament (MP) – elected representatives who embody the voices, concerns, and aspirations of their constituents. MPs play a pivotal role, serving as guardians of the public good through their diligence, independence, and unwavering commitment.”

During the press conference, Head of Policy at The Malta Chamber, Kevin Mizzi, delivered a presentation explaining the recommendations of these two reports. He emphasised that these proposals are not standalone solutions but must be part of a broader comprehensive reform – one that recognises the importance of tackling both institutional weaknesses and the cultural challenges that perpetuate unethical behaviour and disengagement.

The following are the recommendations that come out from the two policy documents:

A Modern Framework for Members of parliament for 2025 and Beyond:

1. System – Retain Single Transferable Vote with caveats addressing flaws

2. MPs – 45 MPs (instead of the current 79)

3. Districts – 5 Districts (9 MPs from each) instead of the current 13 districts

4. 3rd Party Threshold – 5% national threshold for party to be represented in Parliament instead of a minimum of 16.7% votes in 1 of 13 districts

5. Remove Co-option – By-election ONLY in case of vacancies. In case no further candidates remaining on party district list to fill the immediate vacancy from district, the best runner up from party list irrespective of district contested would be elected. 

6. Technical Cabinet Member – (a) The maximum threshold of 45 (MPs) would not be surpassed.      (b) Capped at a maximum of 1 unelected technical minister for every 6 seats won by the party in government. (c) Would replace Government MPs with lowest number of votes. (d) Government should respect role of backbench MPs when appointing Cabinet, whose size remains a PM prerogative. (e) The principle would be proportionally provided also to the Opposition.

7. Gender Mechanism & Donkey Vote – Replace Gender Mechanism by placing under-represented gender at top of ballot vote, hence addressing Donkey Vote.

8. Appointment of Party Leaders not in HoR – Appointment of party leaders from outside parliament with next lowest voted MP conceding seat

A New Approach to Malta’s Elections:

1. Employment – Full time MPs vs Part-Time

2. Remuneration – Remuneration system proposed: (a) Basic pay – pegged to DG salary / Scale 3 –  €42,582.00 (b) Designated Holder Allowance – % increase calculated on average of the median quartile of the basic salary of CEOs in the private sector (2024) which is €126,557.00

– Prime Minister – 90% (+ €71,319) = €113,901.00

– Minister & Opposition leader – 75% (+ €52,336) = €94,918.00

– Parliamentary Secretary – 65% (+ €39,680) = €82,262.00

– Member of Parliament – basic salary only = €42,582.00

3. Additional benefits – (a) Provide additional benefit to political office holders –communications facility & non-taxable grants for lease of constituency office (not party clubs). (b) MPs supported by Research Assistant and engagement of 20hrs Secretarial Support

4. House Parliamentary Research Service – House Parliamentary Research Service with pool of research assistants for MPs

5. Commission appointed by the President of the Republic – Establish a Commission appointed by PoR to review conditions at the beginning of each legislative term  

6. Return to Gov Grade – Former Gov employees may relinquish position with substantive Gov grade after termination

7. State Pension – Same as Social Security Act (additional income under Service Pension) + transition process where part of pension income is based on previous entitlement conditions & part calculated on ‘Maximum Pension income post-reform’; with new MPs calculated on Maximum Pension income only

8. Public Disclosure – Lump-sum compensation, Revolving door (with clearance by Commissioner for Standards) and Transition Allowance package all published for public scrutiny and proportionate to tenure.

These two policy documents, build upon two previous Chamber documents: A Manifesto for Good Governance (2020) and The Malta Chamber’s 2022 policy document, A Strong Transparency, Accountability, and Ethical Governance Framework for Members of Parliament. It highlights the necessity for reforms that ensure fair remuneration while maintaining public trust. The document emphasises that reforms to parliamentary conditions should be supported by measures to improve political governance.