Iż-żona ewro ma tinsabx taħt il-pressjonijiet li qanqluha ftit tas-snin ilu. Il-kriżijiet akuti jinsabu mbiegħda. Fil-biċċa l-kbira, l-ekonomiji qed jagħtu riżultati pożittivi. Setgħu kienu aħjar, imma qed itellqu sew.
Din tista’ tkun stampa qarrieqa u mhux minħabba li d-deni Grieg jista’ jerġa’ jiżbroffa mil-lum għal għada.
Problema ewlenija baqgħet li hemm diverġenzi dejjem jikbru bejn ekonomiji taż-żona li sejrin tajjeb u oħrajn li sejrin anqas tajjeb. Il-firda – jekk trid, bejn in-nord u s-sud taż-żona – hemm għadha. Xejn milli qed jiġri bħalissa mhu jservi biex itaffiha; pjuttost bil-maqlub.
Id-diriġenti politiċi u monetarji –ma tlumhomx – baqgħu medhija jisħqu fuq kif it-tazza hi nofsha mimlija. Jekk jagħmlu mod ieħor, it-tazza malajr titbattal. Biss, jekk ma naffaċċjawx ir-realtà tan-nofs battal, l-istess ħaġa se tiġri.

AIR MALTA
Mhux biss il-ħaddiema tal-Air Malta qed jistaqsu b’ansjetà dejjem akbar: Quo Vadis? dwarha – imma kull min jemmen li neħtieġu kumpanija nazzjonali tal-ajru biex isservi ta’ għodda għas-sostenn tat-turiżmu lejn pajjiżna.
Is-sireni tal-ideoloġija favur l-impriża privata, jgħidulna: tinkwetawx: mingħajrha, impriżi oħra xorta jikkompetu bejniethom biex iżommu t-turiżmu lejn pajjiżna għaddej bil-kbir skont il-profitti li jagħmlu.
Mhux hekk: malli l-profitti jmajnaw, dawn ibewġu ’l barra mingħajr l-iċken ħsieb biex ikomplu jistinkaw ħalli jagħtu ħajja ġdida lit-turiżmu.
Matul is-snin, bħal pajjiżi oħra, aħna tlifna l-boxxla ta’ kif impriżi statali għandhom jitmexxew: skont liema prinċipji, b’liema dixxiplina tas-suq, għal liema għanijiet.
Mal-Ewropa kollha nfirxet imbagħad ideoloġijaneo-liberali li f’isem l-effiċjenza, qed iċċaħħad lill-ġnus mill-flessibilità li jimmuntaw ir-riżorsi nazzjonali biex jidderieġu l-ħidma ekonomika. Din approfittat ruħha minn ideoloġija“xellugija” li qabilha, donnha serviet biex iċċaħħad lill-istess stati milli jeżerċitaw id-dixxiplina meħtieġa ħalli jiżguraw li impriżi statali jitmexxew bil-prudenza li kienet tippermettilhom joperaw b’għaqal fi swieq kompetittivi.
KONVINZJONI MORALI
Meta tasal sa ċerta età kif għamilt jien, ikollok il-privileġġ titbissem b’ċerti bidliet li tara madwarek. Dawn ma jkunux qed jirriżultaw biss minn xi bidla fil-moda ta’ kif inħarsu lejn xulxin u kif inġibu ruħna.
Tbissimt dan l-aħħar naqra rapport dwar każ ta’ allegat korruzzjoni. Min għamlu wasal għall-konklużjonijiet tiegħu fuq il-bażi ta’ “konvinzjoni morali”.
Ftakart kif – wara kollox m’ilux daqstant – ilħna dotti ma naqsux milli jxerrdu żeblieħ totali meta fuq każ ieħor, jien fissirt l-istess konvinzjoni – morali u “intima” . Kien każ aktar serju minn dak li dwaru sar ir-rapport ta’ dan l-aħħar: bl-indizji ħafna aktar qawwija.
Jinbidlu l-istaġuni u magħhom l-apprezzamenti: skont il-waltz ta’ liema dellijiet?

English Version – Divergences in the eurozone

The eurozone is now free of the tensions that tormented it just a few years ago. Acute crises seem to have become a thing of the past. In their majority, its economies are registering positive outcomes. To be sure, they could have been doing better. Still, their performance is acceptable.

However, this overall picture could be misleading – and not just because the Greek fever could overnight become unbearable.

The leading problem remains an ever increasing divergence between economies in the zone which are performing well and those others which are losing out. The split – if you like, between north and south – is still there. Nothing in current outturns will help to bridge it; actually the contrary is happening.

The political and monetary leadership remains focussed on the message that the glass is half full. One can hardly blame them for this. If they did otherwise, the glass would soon empty. However if we fail to consider the other half that is empty, that would also happen.

***

Air Malta

It is not just the company’s workers and employees who, increasingly anxious, keep asking: Quo Vadis Air Malta?

So do all those who believe that we need a national airline to serve as a tool by which to underpin incoming tourism.

The siren voices of pro-business ideology tell us: do not worry;in the absence of the company, other enterprises will emerge. They will compete to drive inbound tourism forward ina big way according to the profits they register.

Not so: as soon as those profits decline, private sector companies will simply retreat. They won’t bother to keep working for the generation of new tourism inflows.

Over the years, as has happened elsewhere, we have lost the touch of how to run state enterprises: the principles according to which they should function, which market disciplines they need to observe, which aims should be set for them.

Europe-wide, the neo-liberal ideology has been adopted in the name of efficiency. It is preventing countries from mobilizing their national resources in order to give direction to economic activity. It is an ideology that benefitted from the misuse of a previous“left-wing” one and has spread on the back of it – by which some countries seemed to be held back from ensuring that state enterprises are managed with a prudence that would have enabled them to operate effectively in competitive markets.

***

Moral conviction

When one reaches a certain age, as I have, one accedes to the privilege of smiling at certain changes in society that one witnesses. These do not follow only from some change in the way by which we consider each other or each other’s behaviour.

I couldn’t help smiling recently when reading through a report about a case of alleged corruption. Its author reached his conclusions on the basis of a “moral conviction”.

I remembered – after all, this was not so long ago – how learned voices quickly expressed their total disdain when I expressed a – moral and “intimate” – conviction about another case. It was much more serious than the one that was published recently, and was based on more significant pointers as evidence.

As seasons change, so do evaluations: according to the waltz of which shadows?

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