Dati

Sa ftit tas-snin ilu, id-drawwa kienet li d-dati tas-sena li jikkomemoraw okkażjonijiet politiċi u nazzjonali kbar jagħtu spunt ukoll għal diskorsi ta’ tifkira.

Veru li kienet tinħass bħala ritwal (kif kienet) għat-tennija ta’ stqarrijiet x’aktarx stereotipati. Imma dawn iċ-“ċerimonji” kien jservu wkoll biex jasserixxu kontinwità mal-imgħoddi.

Jidhirli li naqsu sew fl-aħħar snin l-aċċenni ta’ kontinwità. Dwar l-indipendenza, dwar il-ħelsien, dwar ir-repubblika, dwar jum il-ħaddiem, anki dwar id-dħul ta’ Malta fl-Unjoni Ewropea, il-preżentazzjoni politika tikkonċentra fuq x’jista’ jxaqleb lejn qafas kontemporanju.

Wieħed jifhem għaliex dan jiġri. L-orizzonti quddiem iċ-ċittadini tal-lum resqu dejjem aktar qrib tal-“issa” u tal-“hawn”. Il-firxa tal-midja soċjali kompliet issaħħaħ dan l-iżvilupp.

Biss m’għandniex inwarrbu għalkollox id-dimensjoni storika ta’ dak li nkunu qed nikkommemoraw. Il-bniedem hu magħmul mill-memorji. Li l-istorja ta’ familtu, ta’ pajjiżu, tal-Ewropa ma tibqax tiftiehem mill-bniedem modern jista’ jkun żvilupp perikoluż.

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Deputati

Il-Partit Laburista għandu bżonn ta’ żewġ deputati mexxejja? Wieħed mhux biżżejjed?

L-istess mistoqsija tgħodd għall-PN, la fl-aħħar snin adotta l-istess struttura.

L-arranġament ta’ żewġ deputati mexxejja kien iddaħħal fl-MLP fit-tieni nofs tas-snin sebgħin, meta kienu qed isiru manuvri u kalkoli elaborati dwar kif se ssir is-suċċessjoni tal-mexxej ta’ dak iż-żmien. Minn “soluzzjoni” adatta għal mument wieħed, spiċċajna b’istituzzjoni li għadha titħaddem sal-lum.

Jidher li anki l-PN daħħalha fl-istrutturi tiegħu biex jilqa’ għal kontinġenzi politiċi interni.

Fil-verità deputat mexxej wieħed biżżejjed, bi struttura li tinkludi President jew Segretarju Ġenerali elettiv li jikkonċentra fuq l-oranizzazzjoni politika tal-partit.

F’das-sens, l-aktar timijiet politiċi effettivi ta’ partit fl-istorja politika moderna tagħna kienu b’deputat mexxej wieħed: tal-Partit Laburista bejn l-1966 u l-1971 u tal-PN bejn l-1977 u l-1981.

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Servizzi finanzjarji

Ħa nirrepeti: l-iskandlu tal-Panama se jkollu impatt differenti minn tal-Luxleaks.

Fil-mira did-darba se jkunu s-servizzi finanzjarji mfassla għal persuni “sinjuri” jew kumpaniji relattivament ċkejkna. Huma s-servizzi finanzjarji li Malta speċjalizzat fihom fl-aħħar snin.

L-oqsma kbar li se jitqiesu mill-investigaturi politiċi, ekonomiċi u polizjeski huma dawk tal-ħasil tal-flus ta’ kull tip, tal-evażjoni tat-taxxa u tal-finanzjament okkult permezz tal-korruzzjoni, tal-hekk imsejjaħ “brokerage” u tas-self tal-identitajiet.

Veru li matul is-snin, il-mudell finanzjarju li ġie żviluppat f’pajjiżna kien wieħed mill-aktar strett, imqabbel ma’ dak tal-Panama, ngħidu aħna.

Imma l-aspettattiva se tkun, speċjalment fi ħdan l-Unjoni Ewropea, li r-regoli jridu jsiru ħafna aktar stretti. Il-qasam tas-servizzi finanzjarji f’pajjiżna jrid iħejji minn issa biex jilqa’ b’mod qawwi u korrett għall-esiġenzi ġodda ta’ rapportaġġ u trasparenza li se jibdew jinħolqu.

English Version – Dates

Up to not so long ago, the custom was for celebrations of big political and national events to be organized around commemorative speeches.

It is true that these were experienced as a ritual… which indeed they were… allowing the repetition of rather stereotyped statements. But such “ceremonies” also served to assert continuity with the past.

It would seem that recently the emphasis on continuity has been diluted. Regarding Independence, Freedom, the Republic, Labour Day, and even Malta’s entry in the EU, the public projection of commemorative issues has shifted towards more contemporary topics.

One can understand why this has happened. In our day and age, the issues that matter to people are those that reflect the “here” and “now”. The spread of the social media has served to deepen such ways of looking at things.

Even so, it would be a mistake to totally put aside the historical dimension of what is being commemorated.

People are made of memories.

That the history of his/her family and country, of Europe, becomes unintelligible to the modern individual could be a dangerous development.

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Deputies

Does the Labour Party really need two deputy leaders? Is not one enough?

The same applies to the PN which in recent years adopted a similar organizational structure to Labour’s.

The arrangement by which the posts of two deputy leaders were established in the MLP dates back to the second half of the seventies of the previous century, when elaborate manoeuvres and calculations were being made regarding the succession scenarios to the then leader.

On the basis of a “solution” crafted to meet the needs of the moment, we ended up with an institution that is still in place.

Apparently the PN too introduced the same system in its structures in order to cope with internal political contingencies.

In reality, within a structure that would include the elective post of President of the Party or of General Secretary, tasked with the political organization of party structures, one deputy leader would be sufficient.

Along these lines, the most effective party set-ups in Malta’s modern political history had a one deputy leader profile: they were Labour’s 1966-1971 and the PN’s 1977-1981 teams.

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Financial services

Let me again repeat: the Panama papers scandal will have a different impact to that of Luxleaks.

The target this time will be financial services catering for “very wealthy” people and companies that are relatively small in scale. They’re the kind of financial services in which Malta has specialised over the years.

Political, economic and police investigations will focus on the following sectors: money laundering of all kinds, tax evasion and the hidden funding of corruption by so-called brokerage across frontiers, and identity trafficking.

One could argue that over the years, the financial model developed in this country was extremely stringent, compared to that of Panama, say.

But the expectation, especially in the European Union, will be for regulation to become even stricter. The financial services sector in Malta should prepare as of now, to satisfy swiftly and correctly, the new conditions for reporting and transparency that will be created.