This is a story: a tale of two storms; Irma and Jose. They dominated the news with their innocent names and, in the case of one, lethal and destructive consequences. Both started at the same point of the Atlantic east of the Caribbean, two days apart. Both gathered strength; Irma to Category 5 with unprecedented sustained winds close to 300 kilometres per hour, Jose to a slightly less, but no less impressive Category 4. Both powered by seas which, due to global warming, had temperatures above the norm.

We watched and heard with awe as the super storm Irma traced a path of destruction, devastation and death through tiny Caribbean states and dependencies then continued on through the southern American limb that is Florida. A hungry spiral that stopped for nothing and left nothing untouched. The world then looked on with trepidation as Jose gathered strength and began to trace a similar path, ready to finish off what Irma had started and give the coup de grace to already nearly mortally wounded communities.

Yet something unexpected happened. Just as Jose was about to touch those first bruised islands in the Leeward Island chain, it changed direction. It first turned north then hovered and dithered over the sea, not touching land, not harming anyone, not destroying anything. A storm whose powers remained but that had somehow been brought in check. Why this happened we do not know, but it did happen.

You may wonder where I am going with this article. I will explain.

In the Malta of today I see Irma. A hungry, overheated economy, fuelled by greed. A seemingly inexorable juggernaut that will not allow any obstacle to veer it from its preordained path. The goal is to make money, and money it will make. To hell with the environment, be damned with our heritage.

In the Malta of today I see Irma. A hungry, overheated economy, fuelled by greed

Like Irma feeding on tropical seas, our finances feed off our island; eating up fields, townscapes and buildings of character and leaving behind an unrecognisable, barren mess. And like Irma, whose strength dissipated rapidly once hitting land and being starved of water, our economy will lose momentum, slow down and weaken as the reasons it got going in the first place are consumed and become extinct: our quality of life; our reputation for good governance; a decent work-life balance; our unique culture, architecture and landscape.

So this is us, an Irma. But could we possibly become a Jose? Could we slow things down, change our path, avoid destroying what is already damaged, give a chance to heal this wounded land and yet keep the momentum of our economy going at a less destructive and maintainable pace? I strongly believe it can be done before it is too late to salvage anything.

There was once talk of a national structure plan, designed to encourage sustainable development and yet protect our national character. It is imperative we all sit down, all the stakeholders: environmentalists, developers, businesses, unions, NGOs, local councils and government; and formulate and finalise such a plan and pass it into law. And once passed, abide by it.

Our education system is playing catch up. Yes, many high-end jobs are being created, but who is filling them; our children, nephews and nieces? Or people from abroad. They are welcome, but would it not be better if our own had the skills and knowledge to take them up themselves? At least if we have to suffer the inconveniences caused by an expanding economy, we would also reap the benefits.

The economy may seem healthy, but it is very sick. Apart from tourism, its expansion depends on industries owned by foreign companies which could leave Malta just as easily as they came.

Financial services, IT and online betting came here attracted by tax holidays and incentives and a decent quality of life for their employees.

We are already losing out on the latter and many of our competitors offer similar tax regimes to us. Is it a wonder that we have not managed to attract many post-Brexit companies, when we were once touted as being one of the main beneficiary countries.

Would it not be better to invest in local talent and start-ups? In people who have a vested long-term interest in making this country work; people with roots here, family here? The millions we spend on attracting foreign companies for short-term gain could be invested so much more fruitfully in retraining our citizens, overhauling how they are educated and helping them profit from that education. Small local businesses are the steady motor of an economy. We need more of them.

We can take an example from Jose. Our pathway it not set in stone, we can change direction, take a reality check, destroy less, create more opportunities that leave fewer permanent marks on our country. Before it is too late we need, we must, heed the lesson behind the tale of two storms.

Anthony Buttigieg is a candidate for the leadership of the Democratic Party.