All governments guilty of clientelism, says Busuttil

All governments were guilty of clientelism to some extent, according to the Opposition’s spokesman on good governance, Simon Busuttil. "Clientelism still plagues politics, and all governments are guilty of it, to a greater or lesser extent, not just in Malta but across the world,” he said. The former Nationalist Party and Opposition leader was contacted by Times of Malta for his reaction after Malta Today reported on Sunday that leaked e-mails showed that Nationalist MPs and candidates had solicited government jobs for their constituents. The e-mails covered the years from 2009 to 2013, when the PN was in government. Dr Busuttil, who campaigned on the pledge to clean up Maltese politics in last year’s general election, was quick to put the leaks into context. In this recent case, he said, “the numbers speak for themselves. Just 10 people were reported to have been recruited under a PN administration as a result of the involvement of politicians, whereas some 250 people were taken on board under a Labour administration as a result of clientelism before last June’s election. Indeed, there is a stark difference.” He added that, in the run-up to the last election, the Labour...