L-aktar nies fostna li nammira huma dawk li qed jimmilitaw kontra l-faqar. Hu suġġett li jqanqal simpatija imma li jħalli lil ħafna bierda, anke jekk jaqblu dwar il-ħtieġa li l-faqar jixxejjen.

Mentri dawk li jisħqu fuq is-suġġett qed imorru kontra l-kurrent. Il-voga bħalissa hi favur is-suċċess u r-rankatura għal aktar suċċess. M’hemm xejn ħażin f’hekk. Dal-pajjiż kien ilu mill-bidu tal-millenju jimxi ’l quddiem billi jillipazza. Li issa qed iwettaq tkabbir reali li ilna għomor ma naraw mhix xi ħaġa li tħalli għaddejja qisu ma ġara xejn.

Min-naħa l-oħra, baqgħet il-problema reali tal-faqar. (Mhux f’Malta biss – fl-Ewropa kollha.)

Għamel tajjeb il-Primn Ministru Muscat li ma nħebiex wara subgħajh dwar dil-kwistjoni. Nhar il-Ħadd mexa fil-linja tal-NGOs ta’ kontra l-faqar u poġġa s-suġġett fuq il-quddiem tal-aġenda politika.

Kienet mossa kuraġġuża. Se żżommna attenti għas-segwitu tagħha.
***
CANADA DRY

Il-ftehim tal-Kanada mal-Unjoni Ewropea dwar kummerċ u investimenti – is-CETA – jidher li hu salvat. Talanqas għalissa. Il-parlament reġjonali ta’ Wallonia fil-Belġju flimkien ma’ dak ta’ Brussell qablu ma’ dokument li jispjega kif is-CETA għandu jaħdem. Ivvotaw favur l-iffirmar tal-ftehim mill-gvern Belġjan.

Kien dwejjaq li n-nuqqas ta’ ftehim qam dwar arranġamenti mal-Kanada, pajjiż mill-aktar simpatiku. (Għalkemm il-mod kif uħud fil-midja internazzjonali issa qed jissanktifikawh sar ftit ridikolu – ara l-Economist ta’ dil-ġimgħa bħala eżempju.)

Biss id-dilemma fondamentali hemm tibqa’.

Dawn l-arranġamenti li qed jitħasslu bejn blokki kontinentali f’kummerċ u investiment, lil min se jibbenefikaw? Jissemmew impjiegi, jissemma tkabbir ekonomiku eċċ eċċ.

Aktar ma jgħaddi ż-żmien, aktar qed ikolli naqbel ma’ dawk li jsostnu li se jibbenefikaw l-aktar il-kumpaniji transnazzjonali l-kbar.

***

ĦDURA

B’kumbinazzjoni jien u ngħarrex fil-Google, telgħu “postings” mis-sena 2008 ta’ esponenti Nazzjonalisti dwar l-iskandlu tal-Mistra li kont qajjimt fil-kampanja elettorali ta’ dik is-sena. Ma kontx rajthom qabel. Xorta għaġġbini l-livell ta’ ħdura li kien hemm fihom, l-aktar minn sors li m’hemmx għalfejn nippreċiża liema kien.

Fl-istess waqt, spikka element komiku ħafna fil-qari ta’ din il-proża ħadra. Għal żewġ raġunijiet: għax wara li dehret, kien sar magħruf x’inhu għaddej minn taħt dwar dan il-każ fejn jien suppost kont qlajt ħama ta’ xejn b’xejn; u għax fis-snin ta’ wara, dawk li ddefendew bla skruplu lill-protagonist tal-iskandlu, daru kontrieh b’kull difer li kellhom, kif hu għamel fuqhom.

Kif qal Keynes, f’perspettiva tat-tul inkunu lkoll mietna. Imma xorta l-proverbju Malti dwar kif iż-żmien jagħtina parir jibqa’ jolqot il-musmar f’rasu. Il-ħdura tista’ trebbħek, imma fl-aħħar, tispiċċa tifgak.

English Version – Poverty

The people I most admire in our society are those who mobilize against poverty. The cause arouses sympathy but leaves many of us cool, even as we agree about the need to roll poverty back.

Meanwhile those who harp on the subject, go against the grain. The mood at present is to focus on success and the quest for even greater successes. There is nothing wrong with this. Since the beginning of the millenium, in order to make some progress, we needed all the time to patch over inadequacies. Today, real growth is happening at rates that have not happened for practically a wholelifetime. That is hardly a matter which should be left unnoticed and unsignalled.

Yet the problem of real poverty persists. (Not just in Malta – in the whole of Europe.)

Prime Minister Muscat did well to highlight the matter, instead of sweeping it under the carpet. On Sunday, he took the line of anti-poverty NGOs and placed the matter at the front of the current political agenda.

It was a brave move. Which will keep us clicked on for its follow ups.

***

Canada Dry

The EU agreement with Canada on trade and investments, CETA, seems likely to survive – at least as we now can see. Wallonia’s regional parliament in Belgium along with that of Brussels agreed on an additional document further clarifying how CETA would apply. They then voted in favour of the Belgian government endorsing the agreement.

It was a pity that disagreement should have arisen regarding arrangements with of all places, Canada, a most agreeable land (though the way by which a segment of the international media have been sanctifying the country borders on the ridiculuous – vide for instance this week’s The Economist).

Still the fundamental dilemma remains.

Who will really benefit from the agreements on trade and investment that are being structured between continental blocs? Jobs, economic growth etc etc are all the time being touted, but…

The more this goes on, the more I find myself in agreement with those who claim that it will be the big transnational countries who will benefit most.

***

Spleen

By coincidence as I trawled Google, items from 2008 came up as posted by PN stalwarts regarding the Mistra scandal I had flagged during the electoral campaign of that year. It was the first time I saw these postings. Even so, I was amazed by the concentration of spleen they carried, not least coming from a source about which there is little need to discuss.

Yet, going through this vindictive prose made for comic reading. And for two reasons. After it was published, the whole truth emerged regarding matters about which I supposedly had been splashing dirt all over, just for the sake of it. Then, in subsequent years, those who had defended the protagonist of that scandal with no holds barred, turned on him without any restraint, as he did on them.

As Keynes noted, in the long run we’re all dead. No matter, the Maltese dictum which holds that time will make matters clear is spot on. Spleen might give you victory. Eventually, it chokes you.

Facebook Comments

Post a comment