TMID Editorial: Parliament and holidays
As expected, all the votes taken in Parliament last Monday went the government's way.The Labour Party's strong majority in the House of Representatives enabled it to see through the budget 2025 estimates along with the controversial drugs law - which
As expected, all the votes taken in Parliament last Monday went the government's way.
The Labour Party's strong majority in the House of Representatives enabled it to see through the budget 2025 estimates along with the controversial drugs law - which the government believes will give a better chance to individuals wanting to rehabilitate themselves, while the opposition says it works better for traffickers than victims.
Parliament also approved a resolution changing the conditions of the 1957 emphyteutical deed for the Genera Workers' Union premises in Valletta, now allowing the union to legally sublet its premises to commercial entities. Even here, the Nationalist Opposition voted against.
For its part, the government opposed a private member's bill presented by PN MP Janice Chetcuti to amend regulations for operating pet sitting accommodations and pet boarding accommodation establishments.
In other words, there were no surprises when the votes were taken.
What is less easily understood by us common mortals is the holiday period our honourable MPs afford to themselves over the Christmas period. They say they have so much to do, so many PQs to submit and have answered, so many laws to discuss, and there is also talk of them becoming full-timers. And yet they give themselves a full four weeks of holidays - the last sitting was on 16 December and the first one for 2025 will be on 13 January. (Apart, of course, from another two months during summer and a week or two for Easter.)
Mind you, in the past years with Robert Abela as Prime Minister things were not much different during the end of year period. In 2023, they stopped on 18 December and resumed on 8 January 2024; in 2022 they stopped on 19 December and resumed on 9 January 2023; in 2021 they stopped even earlier, on 14 December, and came back on 10 January 2022; and in 2020 they went on recess on 16 December and returned on 11 January 2021.
In the previous year, 2019, right in the midst of a crisis that saw Joseph Muscat give up the reins of Castille, Parliament stopped on 4 December (just after Muscat announced his resignation) and resumed only on 20 January, a week after Abela had been elected PL leader. It was a seven-week gap, but the circumstances were exceptional.
In the years before the changeover, the situation was similar to what we have seen of late. Three to four weeks of holidays during Christmas is more than what schools get. As for the rest of us, we all know how many arguments we have to come up with arrangements so that everyone has the chance to spend a few days away during this holiday period.
Of course, we know that ministers, parliamentary secretaries and the rest of the MPs in employment do not only have Parliament to attend as part of their duties. But we also know that Parliament has a long agenda with so many laws that need to be discussed and voted upon.
So the question we ask is this: Should Parliament have such long periods of holiday?
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