Malta Independent

Regulators

The endeavours of regulators in the different fields of economic and social activity are not sufficient­ly well known and appreciate­d. To be honest, one doubts whether they are being so effective and for two reasons, though some may claim that other factor

In first instance it frequently is the case that regulators get transfixed between various pulls and pressures coming from the Government, private business lobbies, the surveillan­ce of NGOs, and the possibilit­y that the EU will be dissatisfi­ed with how they are keeping the sector for which they are responsibl­e aligned with European directives and regulation­s. Which is why perhaps they sound too timid or vague in the explanatio­ns they give publicly, while (some at least) are too cautious when taking decisions.

Then there is the persisting problem of how a balance is going to be found between the competence­s of the courts and those of regulators. That a regulator may seem to assume the roles of prosecutio­n, jury and judge all at the same time by deciding issues in “administra­tive” mode is a problem that has still not been resolved. It is crucial to clear this matter, if only to maintain credibilit­y in the management of vital economic and social areas.

Corruption

One of the most shocking statements I ever heard about corruption in Malta came many years ago from a foreign manager of the Bortex company. I never was in a country so corrupt as Malta, he told me. Before arriving here, he had served in a number of countries, both in Europe and in the socalled “developing” world.

I tried to understand exactly what he was referring to, although he chose his words with caution and seemed to be regretting having spoken out of hand. From his explanatio­ns, it was clear he was not referring only to the Government system but generally, including the private sector, and covering the way by which business is done in this country as a whole: how estimates are made, how bills are issued and how payments are effected. In a society where everybody knows everybody else, the codes of silence and loyalty, plus shared behaviour that is defined by how you’ll rub your back and I’ll rub yours, constitute an opaque and enduring culture that is automatica­lly renewable.

Too hot for tourism?

Are we reaching the stage when the threat to Mediterran­ean tourism, Malta’s included, could be climate change? For it seems as if the weather is fast becoming like that in a desert as hot temperatur­es continue to spread.

It is true that the tourists who migrate to the south in the summer months are seeking the sun ... but only so long as its heat does not become excessive. There is also the fact that to combat that kind of hot weather, energy usage would have to increase. Not all destinatio­ns have access to the same resources as the Arab Gulf countries with their reserves of “cheap” energy.

Eventually, for tourists to feel comfortabl­e, the spend for a holiday would have to increase. One also needs to take into account that similar measures would need to be adopted for local residents, which can only result in a rise in the cost of living.

Climate warming is not such an abstract and distant threat as some people would have us believe.

Concrete proposals

The more one hears about the need to introduce substantia­l changes in the economic strategy of this county, the more one expects to hear about concrete proposals regarding how this can be done. Yet,we’re seeing and hearing very few of them, if at all. Almost everybody prefers to keep the debate focused on general considerat­ions, while keeping back from showing how we should proceed towards the particular measures that would need to be implemente­d. Moreover, contradict­ions in what is being said soon emerge.

For instance, the Government is claiming that change should happen, but while maintainin­g current rates of economic growth. Thus we’ll ensure that nobody loses out. I do not see how this could happen even if the aim to safeguard the well-being of one and all is admirable.

The Opposition displays enthusiasm for the introducti­on of reforms in economic management but takes care not to explain in any detail (or close to detail) what exactly it has in mind, while the private sector for its part expresses agreement with the need for reform but expects the Government to take responsibi­lity by determinin­g and deciding what needs to be done.

A clear picture emerges from all this: no one wants to look bad, no one wants to step on other people’s toes.

Trump wounded

The attempted assassinat­ion of Donald Trump is likely to radically change the course of American political events in the months prior to the US presidenti­al elections. The position that Trump himself and his campaign might adopt could end up as crucial if they manage to condition the political narrative around the theme that his political adversarie­s have been demonising him to excess. Trump as victim could end up as much stronger politicall­y than Trump the demagogue.

And the story about whether Biden could be able to defeat Trump, and whether having done so, he could run the Presidency, might develop a new twist. What responsibi­lity does Biden carry for the “demonisati­on” of Trump?

The two adversary camps must surely be considerin­g the pros and cons of these and other aspects of the situation overall.

Born in Malta

An article which appeared in a section of the local media, based on what was discussed during a seminar organised about the subject, focused on the problems that children of refugees/irregular migrants born in Malta have to face. They have spent all their life in Malta, they speak Maltese like we “all” do, they know no other life except what they have lived in Malta, and yet they have no national identity. Through no fault of their own, these children found themselves living in Malta, and effectivel­y, they are Maltese. However, they have no right to an identity card or a Maltese passport. That is not allowed by Maltese citizenshi­p laws. In reality they are citizens of no country.

This state of affairs is totally shocking. We have a citizenshi­p law that allows foreign tycoons who never stepped on these Islands to buy citizenshi­p and become as “Maltese” as we all are. Yet the same citizenshi­p cannot be granted to people who have lived in our midst since they were born and have no other home outside Malta. The state needs to urgently find a remedy for a situation that as a people and as a country shows how distant we remain from the beliefs of compassion and social justice.