In the surreal world we are living in, selling Maltese passports is possibly this administration’s most enigmatic and deceptive scheme. Introduced after Labour came to power in 2013, it evoked a very negative public reaction and much amendments. Invariably, the government went ahead and now it wants to extend the scheme and consult the public about it.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister wanted to ride the V18 celebrations in Valletta and said national pride has reached historic levels. Festa-style celebrations in the capital city are not indicative of national pride. Joining the European Union was one such moment in recent history but Joseph Muscat was not celebrating then.
The passport scheme, called individual investment programme, which the Prime Minister promoted, launched and now markets for Henley & Partners around the world, is the exact antithesis of national pride. For starters, it is not investment, as claimed, but the sale of passports at a high price. Worse, the government is not selling Maltese passports but European passports. It is selling something that does not belong to us, to travel freely around a grouping of states Dr Muscat never wanted to join.
Yes, the country rakes in money, and in the millions too, but the new Maltese are not investing here. Meanwhile, the government boasts of a budget surplus, the money coming from the fees. It sounds exactly as it is: making an easy buck while the going is good. But selling passports is not an industry and is immensely short term.
Selling Maltese citizenship is a national humiliation that no charade in Valletta can hide away. If the Prime Minister wants to see people feel nation pride, he should stop humiliating them.
It does not come across well when the government publishes the names and details of the new passport holders and hides them in an official list of people naturalised and registered as citizens of Malta. It indicates so much: that the passport buyers do not want their names on a separate list. It is anyone’s guess then how much they want to live here, let alone invest.
Like the case with all the major contracts, the government has been reluctant to come clean on passports and now wants to consult. There is nothing to consult about. People with some pride in their country are very strongly against. Dr Muscat thinks money speaks loudest and passports bring money. He has often been proved right on that point.
Meanwhile, the stories continue to come in.
Bloomberg recently described the passport selling scheme as being irresistible to business elites. It did not mention investment in Malta, only that Maltese passport holders live, work and do business anywhere in Europe. Bloomberg’s main focus was on the new Russian-Maltese, which, it says, are “not emigrating” from Russia but simply unwilling to put all their eggs in President Vladimir Putin’s basket. It is a constant source of annoyance to their President.
A Polish MEP has told the European Commission that Malta’s “golden passport” was being used by Russian oligarchs to avoid sanctions. These reports were just teasers of what the passports sale could involve.
The government appears to think there is no tomorrow, in “making hay while the sun shines”, as some developers are doing. But building speculation would not last forever. Neither do governments, nor passports for sale.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial