The Nationalists' dark secrets

Lawrence Gonzi might have stated, out of mock modesty, that the green light from Brussels for Malta to adopt the euro should not give rise to any euphoria, but his spin doctors and control freaks seem to have had a different idea.

This could be seen from the way the Nationalist media went into top gear before and after the announcement was made to give people to understand that, as New Labour used to say when Tony Blair was first elected, "things can only get better".

The 64,000-dollar question is: will they?

The Nationalist Party and government are facing more than just an uphill struggle. They are, in my opinion, facing terminal decline; haunted as they are by their dark secrets, administrative blundering, whiffs of alleged corruption, personality clashes and the widening social divide that was laid bare only a few days before the euro announcement, courtesy of none other than the National Statistics Office!

Although, even when the 2007 Budget was announced - particularly regarding the tax cuts - we were given to understand that a sense of well-being would prevail among the electorate, reports of a survey commissioned by the Nationalist Party, which recently appeared in another Sunday newspaper showed that 72 per cent of the electorate have not seen any material improvements over the previous year, thus throwing a new light on the state of denial among top PN officials after the party's defeat in last March's local elections.

The euro might and definitely will improve our ratings with the credit rating agencies - as seems to have been the case already - but, despite the euro endorsement, the economic turnaround has yet to translate itself into concrete improvements in living conditions.

Shocking statistics

Even if the economy were growing - while recognising the fact that, apart from speculators, a number of people are doing well as a result of their genuinely hard-earned efforts - the poverty rate revealed by the NSO is shocking indeed.

A new queasy type of social inequality is surfacing, which should alarm all those of us with a social conscience and a deep commitment towards a more efficient but also a more socially just society.

The NSO revealed that 59,315 persons fell under the poverty line in recent months. Just as shocking is that the two highest categories at risk of poverty are children under 16 and those aged over 65, while its analysis, by household type, shows that the poverty rate was highest among persons living in single-parent households. This rate stood at 47.9 per cent, that is almost half of all single-parent 'families'.

Although I cannot discount moonlighting and the existence of a thriving underground economy, an independent study by senior lecturers without any political agenda confirms a conclusion I have long reached as a result of my home visits, namely that although single persons on a minimum wage do not fall under the poverty line, the minute someone else is also dependent on that income, they do.

We are living in a society where poverty and social exclusion are intertwined. Sometimes I meet people who argue that most unemployed are a lazy lot and that we should be thankful that we do not have beggars on the streets as in other European capitals. But we can be mistaken on both counts in continuing to argue this way, particularly since the study concludes that many families do not end up begging on the streets only because of support from relatives!

No wonder the PN media played down these NSO figures and social studies, and almost ignored them completely.

Were this to be the only problem that the Gonzi administration is facing, it might be something one could address in the medium to long term, given the necessary commitment and political will.

Corruption claims

But one reason I consider the PN government to be in terminal decline is that, in spite of Dr Gonzi's good intentions, lumped as he is with a Cabinet of Fenech Adami's making, arrogance seems to be the order of the day, allegations of corruption surface almost daily - as evidenced by the very serious claims made by former PN president and MP Dr Frank Portelli and an otherwise likable, serving Cabinet Minister's alleged political impotence in addressing irregularities in an authority that fell under his brief.

Meanwhile administrative bungling continues to prevail in the running of practically any project under way. Not to mention the way that every single privatisation that took place in recent years has been mishandled, to put it mildly, while being invariably mired in controversy!

But to go back to Dr Portelli's claims. If the PN were not left stunned by his serious allegations, how come the party changed tack at least four times in reacting to this issue courtesy of Tonio Fenech, Tonio Borg, Louis Deguara and the PM, only for the latter to take concrete action and ask the police commissioner to investigate the matter no less than two weeks after the accusations were made public during a TVM programme?

On the party front, apart from being haunted by the spectre of Dr Josie Muscat who, judging by various letters to the editor by Nationalist-leaning readers, seems destined to erode their base of support in no uncertain way, the John Dalli saga is another haunting trauma that simply cannot go away. Even if Gonzi supporters boast publicly that they have managed to clip his wings!

Only two weeks ago, while singing the praises of the 'foresight and vision' of Eddie Fenech Adami as PM, not only did Mr Dalli not have a single word of praise for the current PM, Dr Gonzi, but he also did not mince his words when commenting about the setbacks he experienced - from individuals in his own party, "for which they had their reasons, which he can now understand as nobody likes competition".

Mr Dalli's biggest regret is that, although everybody knows what happened, there was an attempted frame-up, which came to the fore, and that one of the people involved has been convicted and given a three-year sentence; in his own words: "I have still not received any word of apology from the perpetrators of this act..."

'Born-again' environmentalism

Which brings me to Lawrence Gonzi, the 'born again' environmentalist!

Although the Nationalists have tried to drum it into people's heads that Alfred Sant committed many U-turns, with the benefit of hindsight we can easily conclude that if there is a party that specialises in U-turns this is none other than the Nationalist Party itself.

We saw this in the past when they reversed their past criticism of Labour governments' warm relations with the Chinese, the Libyans and the Palestinians, and we have seen it in recent months and days too.

The same can be said for their U-turn on the closure of military bases, as well as on how they came to embrace what they had originally denigrated, such as Labour's concept that peace in Europe cannot be achieved without peace in the Mediterranean.

In 2003 the pro-EU lobby had confirmed in writing that spring hunting was guaranteed, thus implying that it was here to stay. Now a totally different story is being spun because they are up against a fair dose of realpolitik.

The same can be said for the proposed golf course at Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra. One moment Dr Gonzi argued that it was indispensable, and portrayed it as the only way to attract upmarket tourists without admitting that as originally envisaged the whole project was destined to give way to rampant property speculation and over-development. Don't forget that the golf course site had been singled out by Dr Gonzi himself, since a MEPA short list of prospective sites had not included this particular area.

Next we were told by none other than the PM that the Nature and History Park that will replace the projected golf course in the north west of Malta shows "Government's commitment towards the natural environment and the creation of more open spaces for the enjoyment of all families".

He even had the cheek to make us forget that the decision to build a golf course at Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra was, in his own words, being taken "in the national interest" (October 2005 Budget speech) only to now tell us that this park - which will be replacing the golf course - is another link in the long chain of positive initiatives for the environment and that the decision to declare it as a Nature and History Park is because of its scientific, biological and cultural importance.

Less than two years ago Dr Gonzi had wanted to destroy the whole Xaghra l-Hamra area, Rambo style, and now he is soliciting praise for having 'saved' the day... to save his skin! Meanwhile, not a word of praise or thanks from anybody from the Opposition for having fought the location of a golf course at Ix-Xaghra l-Hamra tooth and nail!

Where was the newly discovered Government synergy with Din l-Art Helwa and Nature Trust two years back?

After having taken hunters and trappers for a ride and realising that it can no longer enjoy their support or confidence, Government has suddenly realised something that has been obvious all along - that without the environmentalists' vote it stands to erode its weakening base of support even further. After all, hunters and trappers might be vocal and militant but some argue, rightly or wrongly, that opinion polls are inclined to show that environmentalists are a silent majority.

If Government really wants us to believe in its 'born again' environmental stance, it needs to take many additional steps to come clean with the electorate at large.

At the same time it would do well to steer clear of fundamentalists, irrespective of which side of the fence they may be sitting on. I say so because while there might be fundamentalist hunters and trappers, as well as fundamentalist environmentalists, there are many respectable people who either practise the former sport or have the environment genuinely at heart. Both need to be accommodated if they can and are prepared to observe the rules of the game - even more so now that we have been members of the EU for over three years.

The perception that hard-core hunters are traditionally pro-Labour is as questionable as the argument that pro-environmentalists are traditionally pro-PN or pro-AD. Constituents in my area will bear me out whether we are talking of San Gwann, Msida, Gharghur, Ta' Xbiex or the Swieqi area. The same applies to Gzira, St Julian's and Sliema.

For this reason, if the PN want to convince us of its rediscovered environmentalist 'roots':

• It needs to have a clear-cut policy on the overdevelopment of the Sliema/St Julian's area, among others, which is causing undue stress on the residents of these two Nationalist strongholds by turning them into near permanent building sites.

• It needs to confirm or deny reports that an e-mail from the European Commission confirmed that the Commission had sent a letter of formal notice to Malta recently concerning amendments to development zones under the Structure Plan for Malta without undertaking a strategic environmental assessment in full breach of the SEA Directive.

• It needs to declare publicly if there was any communication between the EU Commission and the Maltese authorities on the current investigation - confirmed by the Commission itself - on the waiving of the Fort Cambridge EIA, Ulysses Lodge in Ramla, Gozo, and other cases.

• It must also state clearly whether there has been any communication between the European Commission on the government's plan to develop a number of golf courses in Malta. That is prior to government's recent U-turn.

Rest assured that in the coming months every Nationalist move and decision will be taken out of purely electoral considerations. So much for the environmentalists, hunters or trappers! As well as the euro hype and the scandal-ridden Mater Dei Hospital launch.

What still has to be seen is whether any of these 'strategic' moves can help save a party that is undoubtedly in free fall!

leo.brincat@gov.mt