I have read some of the unnecessary derisory comments made against Joseph Muscat and his government posted on newspaper sites, some by Maltese ex-patriots and others by expats.
I am happy to support Brexit as law and order breaks down in the UK and knife and gun crimes escalate by the hour. I accept there are questions to be answered regarding fiduciary issues by both the Labour and Nationalist parties in Malta. However, the Maltese are all very fortunate to live ‘relatively crime free’ here, where they do not run the risk of being shot from a passing car. Not so in the UK. The Home Office has so underfunded the police force across the UK that it can no longer cope with the crime wave.
Furthermore, the dreadful UK government, under pressure from the extreme Brexit right wing, has been making arbitrary decisions about deporting people from the UK. Two recent examples are the Grenfell Tower blaze and the Windrush scandal. Theresa May, when Home Secretary, decided to introduce draconian immigration laws but forgot or ignored the plight of those many Windrush retirees who now suffer from ignorant and blanket decision-making.
I believe the rule of law is becoming broken in the UK. I also believe there are many protections in place in Malta to prevent such arbitrary actions by a weak and ineffectual government impacting the tranquility of its ageing citizens. Indeed, I am certain the Catholic Church here makes sure the poorer members of society are protected. It has just donated the Adelaide Cini Institute to Hospice Malta to cater for the palliative care of an ageing Maltese population. It follows the credo that it is better to give than to receive and it has set an example that all should aim to follow.
In the UK the credo is simply take, take, take, and our Church of England seems powerless even to comment on government policy, let alone transfer property over to help the poor and needy. However, what goes around comes around, and often with a heftier clout as we shall shortly witness.