Rewind to 2012. After more than 20 years of administration by the Nationalist Party, along comes a relative newcomer to the political scene and mesmerises the electorate with a manifesto that, at first glance, appeared to tick most of the right boxes. It read like a breath of fresh air especially to the so-called ‘floating voter’.
Sure enough, in the general election of 2013, Joseph Muscat swept to a historic and emphatic victory achieving the largest majority ever recorded in Malta. To cap it all, he achieved all this at the relative young age of 39. Many were those who hoped that Malta would finally have a prime minister with the mandate and the political clout to dramatically change the face of Maltese politics for ever. Was this to be the dawn of a new era for our country?
Sadly, this was not to be. It didn’t take very long for many of those who had placed their trust in Muscat to realise that, as the saying goes, “if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is [too good to be true].”
To his credit, Muscat created a better performing economy, introduced several social reforms and offered more assistance to the less fortunate. We have virtually no unemployment, so much so that we are obliged to import workers to sustain our growth. Tourism continues its relentless growth and in 2017 the country welcomed over two million visitors.
The main driver of our economic growth has undoubtedly been the massive increase in building construction. This unbridled expansion does however carry many risks. The Planning Authority recently announced that the number of development permits had increased by a staggering 50 per cent.
Within a few years, our landscape will be dotted with new construction dominated by a plethora of high-rise towers and other developments of a scale hitherto unknown in Malta. Our skyline is being irreversibly changed forever.
Muscat promised to base his administration on transparency, meritocracy, good governance and a zero tolerance on corruption. I think he has failed on all four counts
One can perhaps understand the business case of the mega-rich developers, but it is also clear that little concern is being given to our landscape. It is also abundantly clear that our political class is totally insensitive to preserving our typical landscape and architectural heritage and for this they must assume ultimate responsibility for having allowed and approved it.
I also have serious doubts about whether the existing infrastructure will cope with this building frenzy. To upgrade it will cost hundreds of millions of euros. Who is going to bear this cost? The taxpayer I suppose. Is this what the country desperately needs and wants?
I fear that the government is taking a very short view and is going for the proverbial quick buck. What if the economy overheats and we experience a downturn? I think that a longer-term view coupled with a more controlled growth strategy (master plan) would have been a more sustainable option.
This government gives the distinct impression that it is obsessed with economic growth at all costs. Its policies are geared relentlessly towards increasing our standard measure of growth – GDP. By this yardstick many, especially those at the top of the pyramid, have never been wealthier but how much of this wealth has trickled down to those further down the ladder? People in many countries, including Malta, don’t see the reality of their lives reflected in the official picture painted by the politicians and economists.
Muscat had, in 2013, promised to base his administration on transparency, meritocracy, good governance and a zero tolerance on corruption. I think he has failed on all four counts. Other than trying to justify his actions by comparing them with the performance of his predecessors, nothing much has changed. The list of “errors of judgement” is indeed a very long one.
His biggest single mistake to date has been his obstinate refusal to dismiss a Cabinet minister and his chief of staff who were both exposed as having secretly opened offshore companies in Panama and elsewhere. He continues to defend the indefensible.
This failure by the Prime Minister has sent the wrong message to our citizens and caused serious damage to our reputation. It has attracted extremely harsh criticism internationally and drawn damning reports from EU institutions. There is no doubt in my mind that he should have taken decisive action when the story broke and immediately dismissed the persons concerned. Instead he defended his buddies in preference, I regret to say, to the national interest.
Another contentious initiative by Muscat that is also receiving bad press both locally and internationally on the citizenship/investment scheme that has been snapped up by more than 800 billionaires that hail in the main from Russia, Azerbaijan and the Middle East. It is true that the scheme is generating a one-time windfall but isn’t this a text book case of “quick buck” politics?
On a point of principal, how can my Prime Minister urge me to be proud to be Maltese when he is in fact selling our “soul” to whoever coughs up a million euros? I’d like to think that perhaps all is not lost. The Italians say: non e mai troppo tardi (it is never too late). I am concerned with the long-term interest of my country of birth (unlike the ‘new’ passport holders who are more likely to have been born in Moscow or Beijing).
I wish Malta to progress steadily in peace and unity and with a large dose of social justice.
Muscat had the golden opportunity to overhaul Maltese society like no other prime minister before him. It could have been a truly fantastic legacy he could have left behind had he placed good governance at the top of his list of priorities.
Unfortunately, he blew it and he risks being remembered for the wrong reasons when he bows out of politics in a few years’ time. What a pity for Malta.
Tony Zammit Cutajar is a retired businessman.