The energy tariffs, and alternative means of trying to reduce them, dominated the early days of the 2013 election campaign. Instigated by the Labour Party, the debate on tariffs is natural enough and is taking place elsewhere too. Energy is a key input into all sorts of economic activity. That is why the global economy pays close attention to the energy sector and is madly looking for alternatives to fossil fuel.
Common ground and compromise just do not exist in Malta- Lino Spiteri
Malta is one of the countries worst affected by the energy issue. Like all countries the passage of the four-legged toiler and the cart it pulled made economic activity dependent on energy. The island has not managed to identify any resources of its own. And it’s far behind other countries in the development of alternative solutions.
The drive for the latter only started in some earnest after we joined the European Union and reduction of emissions became incumbent on us. As it is we are still far behind the EU target and the Marsa power station, the island’s worst polluter, is still in its agony.
It is no surprise, then, that energy features large in the general election discussion. It has been on the main country agenda long before that, ever since the Labour Party declared that, if elected to office, it would find ways and means to slash energy prices.
The Government initially hee-hawed at that one, saying it could not be done. It undertook to cost energy at full recovery price, as that was the only way to ensure that water and energy were used economically. It alleged that Labour’s way would depend on subsidies.
About a year ago, the Government performed the mother of somersaults and began subsidising energy costs right across the board, no longer for the neediest sector of society. Gone was the argument that subsidies would lead to waste. The Government began arguing that tariffs had risen too much and extended Enemalta €26 million worth of additional credit to Enemalta in indirect subsidies. That was repeated in this year’s Budget proposals.
The reason was simple enough – the general election was just around the corner. The rating agencies understood the ruse and indicated they expected tariffs to be raised again after the general election.
In the meanwhile, the two main political parties have entered into a mother of arguments about whether Labour’s proposal could work economically. The Government declared that the proposal had already been one of several options proposed to it. It had discarded it, opting for an interconnector with Sicily, still several years down the road.
Meanwhile, displaying another contradiction, it said it would be converting the new Delimara plant – which operates on heavy fuel oil – to much cleaner liquid gas. This is part of the Labour proposal, so the two parties are not too far from each other, except for political rhetoric. To compound confusion, reports are arriving from Sicily that some tough guys over there are against a Sicily-Malta interconnector and would do their best to stall it.
In fact, that is one of the disadvantages of the scheme, apart from the inherent dangers of underwater damages. It takes control out of Malta’s hands. But that point can be made about other alternatives, in one form or another. Liquefied gas has to be imported and, using ships for that purpose, that has its dangers as well.
In any given set of circumstances, the final decision will turn on efficiency considerations and on the probabilities of dangers to the method used, including sabotage. Rather than waste precious time arguing about the merits and demerits of their various proposals the political parties would do well to explore the possibility of an eventual united front to get advice from independent experts, like Prof. Edward Mallia, about the best way to go about it.
Rhetorically shooting each other, implying suspicious deals in all quarters, and other nauseating approaches made-in-Malta will get us nowhere. If it is not one party in Opposition attacking the party in Government it will be the turn to change guards but keep the rhetoric constant.
Of course I understand that my proposal is like whistling for the moon. Common ground and compromise just do not exist in Malta. The Leader of the Opposition is trying to change that by talking about one-country. How far that will be practised if he is in government will depend also on the extent to which the new Opposition would wish to make the effort.
Meanwhile the debate continues. There will be other topics on the agenda in the weeks that remain to March 9, Election Day. But probably – at least, barring for some scandal or other – none will demand more attention than the debate on energy tariffs.
Pity. Even meals for paupers sometimes consist of more than one course, even if they start with simple lemon peel.
It shows the paucity of our politics, even when there is a chance for our politicians to rise above themselves to go for common solutions.