Tkabbir Ekonomiku

It-tkabbir ekonomiku f’Malta baqa’ jiġi sostnut.

Il-fatt li jinsab qrib il-5 fil-mija fis-sena jiftaħ opportunitajiet ġodda.

Kien meta l-ekonomija Maltija kienet tikber b’rati ta’ dan id-daqs li saru l-aqwa bidliet fl-istrutturi ekonomiċi u soċjali tal-pajjiż.

B’għaqal u b’xorti tajba, din ir-rata ta’ tkabbir tista’ tinżamm għal ftit tas-snin oħra.

U allura tqum il-mistoqsija — kif għandu jitħaddem il-ġid maħluq?

Min-naħa tal-gvern żgur l-attenzjoni għandha tkun biex il-fondi “aktar” li hu se jkun jista’ juża, jmorru għall-investiment publiku, li għal snin wisq twal, tħalla jonqos.

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Populiżmu

Fl-elezzjonijiet reġjonali ta’ Franza, il-Front Nazzjonali, partit tal-lemin estrem, għadu kemm għamel rebħa kbira. Sar l-akbar partit tal-pajjiż, b’avvanzi qawwija tista’ tgħid mat-territorju kollu.

X’wassal għal dan?

Aktar mill-proposti ta’ politika li qed imexxi ‘l quddiem, ħafna minnhom illiberali għall-aħħar, naħseb li ċ-ċavetta tas-suċċess kienet (u se tibqa’) dik li l-FN tkellem fuq il-problemi kbar li qed jaffaċċjaw iċ-ċittadini bl-istess mod kif qed jitkellmu dwarhom huma. Allura jitkellem ukoll bl-istess mod dwar is-soluzzjonijiet li qed joffri. Uħud minnhom mhumiex realistiċi, imma jappellaw lin-nies għax jagħtu l-fehma li dak li jixtiequ jaraw iseħħ, jista’ jseħħ faċilment.

Il-partiti l-kbar “moderati” jew jevitaw li jitkellmu dwar il-veru problemi tan-nies, jew iqanqluhom b’mod li ma jiftiehemx, jew ikollhom idaħħlu miżuri biex jilqgħu għall-problemi li anki meta jirnexxu — u ta’ spiss ma jirnexxux — iqanqlu aktar diżgwid.

Mhux ta’ b’xejn li l-populiżmu javvanza.

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Repubblika

Kollox ma’ kollox, ir-repubblika ta’ Malta sa issa ffunzjonat tajjeb. Hi demokrazija ħajja anki jekk ħafna drabi, it-tendenza kienet biex deċizjonijiet akuti jiġu mwaddba lura u lura fiz-zmien. Dan iwassal biex il-problemi jinġemgħu u jsiru aktar komplikati.

Uħud fostna jemmnu li għalhekk is-sħubija ta’ Malta fl-Unjoni Ewropea kienet meħtieġa. Bidliet li kienu jibqgħu ma jsirux jew isiru bil-mod wisq, kellhom isiru bilfors biex il-pajjiz isostni r-regoli tas-suq kontinentali li sar parti integrali minnu.

Jien wieħed minn dawk li mhumiex konvinti dwar hekk. Veru li bidliet iebsa ddaħħlu bl-ixprun tas-sħubija fl-UE imma f’wisq kazi kienu mfassla skont kriterji Ewropej li mhux bilfors jgħoddu għalina.

Oħrajn jilmentaw minn dik li jaraw bħalha l-pwerilità tal-ħajja publika fir-repubblika tagħna. Veru li ta’ spiss kwistjonijiet serji jiġu trivjalizzati u personalizzati. Madankollu dan jiġri f’pajjiżi oħra, mhux fostna biss. U d-daqs tagħna hu dak li hu. F’soċjetà fejn kulħadd jaf lil “kulħadd”, hu kważi inevitabbli li kull kontroversja tispiċċa f’wiċċimbwiċċ.

English Version – Economic growth

Economic growth in Malta has been maintained.

The fact that this year it will be in the ballpark of 5 per cent opens up new opportunities.

In the past, it was when the economy was growing at equivalent rates that the most sucessful reforms were carried out in the economic and social structures of the island.

With care and good luck, present growth rates could be maintained for some more years.

Which then leads to the question: what should be done with the wealth that is generated?

Surely on the government’s part, the focus should be on ensuring that the “greater” funds becoming available, are earmarked for public investment, which has been allowed to decline for too long.

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Populism

In the French regional elections, the extreme right National Front (FN) has made a huge victory. It has become the largest French political party, making advances practically across the whole country.

Why has this happened?

Beyond the political agenda it has worked to, containing some very illiberal proposals, I think that the FN’s success was (and will remain) due to its having raised and discussed the big problems facing the French people in the same way that they were being discussed by the people. Moreover, it also projected in the same way the proposals it was making. Some of these are unrealistic, but they appeal to the ordinary citizen because they imply that what he/she is looking for can be easily achieved.

The big “moderate” parties either avoid having to discuss the real problems that people experience, or raise them in ways that people fail to understand, or the same parties are obligated to meet such problems by introducing measures that even when they succeed — and often they do not — generate more dissatisfaction.

That populism is on the advance should be unsurprising.

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Republic

All things considered, the republic has functioned well in Malta. It is a living democracy even if the tendency is frequently to postpone time after time, urgent decisions. Which leads to a pile up of problems even as these become more complex.

Some believe that for this reason, Malta did well to join the European Union. Changes that were necessary would have been left undone or would have been implemented at too slow a pace. They were actually carried out because the country needed to comply with the rules of a continental market of which it had become an integral part.

I am one of those who are unconvinced by this argument. It is true that tough changes were introduced due to the push of EU membership but too often, they were designed according to European criteria that do not necessarily fit our situation.

Others complain about the puerility, as they see it, of Maltese public life. It is true that serious issues often get trivialised and personalised. However this happens elsewhere too, not just here. And our size is what it is. In a society where practically everybody knows everybody else, it is practically inevitable that almost all controversies turn into face to face contests.