Few may have an appetite to go through a pre-Budget document in the sizzling heat of August, more so when the Prime Minister does not let a week go by without trumpeting the progress the country is making on the economic front.
Adding to the periodical information given by the National Statistics Office, the country also gets regular economic reviews from the European Commission and from the credit rating agencies. These have all been lauding, in various degrees, the economic growth rate, though, as they are bound to do, they also highlight long-standing, or new, weaknesses and point to potential difficulties.
In the light of all the favourable reports about the economy that the country is getting, it is no wonder that the people’s expectations have been raised. Despite assertions that all segments of the population have been benefiting from growth, there are many who do not share this view.
The cut in the water and electricity rate, paraded as a major move in the government’s plan to ease the householders’ financial burden, may have helped at first but its effect has now been sharply eroded under the pressure of a range of rising costs. When the price of oil remained so low for so many months now, people rightfully feel they ought to benefit far more than they are doing now. The government is clearly overplaying the ‘price stability’ card to its advantage.
Economic figures, particularly those relating to the rise in the gross domestic product, the reduction in the deficit and in the national debt and the low unemployment are indeed noteworthy.
However, these mean very little to those who are finding it increasingly difficult to make both ends meet. Income inequality is emerging as a primary concern. While the Finance Minister is in a position to take measures, in the Budget for 2017, that will help ease the burden of those who are really down in the income scales, there are other very serious concerns that will overshadow the Budget.
The cosmetic way in which the government has tackled the Panama Papers revelations, insofar as these concern a government minister and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, have led many, particularly the uncommitted voters, to seriously question the government’s moral values.
Joseph Muscat may think that, given the huge support his government received at the last election, it is immune to criticism. It is very likely, however, that the government stands to pay a heavy price for what is seen as its sheer arrogance in challenging the people’s concern over such an issue. This apart from the several cases of misdemeanors and impropriety that have also seriously blotted the government’s governance record.
Yet another matter of deep concern is the rush of applications for the building of high rises, including in areas, such as the one planned for Sliema, where the monstrosity is expected to considerably erode the quality of life of the community living there.
No number of excellent economic indicators is going to pacify the people’s minds over a matter that touches their everyday life. As if the planned disfiguring of virgin land at Żonqor is not enough, the go-ahead for the ruining of the Sliema landscape is yet another indication of a soulless frame of mind that is willing to accept any development so long as it creates jobs and helps turn the wheel of the economy. The Żonqor case is an epitome of such frame of mind.
The pre-Budget document does not ease these concerns.