In a snap electoral campaign forced on everyone by the Prime Minister due to allegations of corruption piling on his administration, one would have thought that the common citizen, the workers, the students and all those who struggle to make ends meet would have become the centre of the campaign.

We aren’t dismissing the grave and serious revelations that emerged on this newspaper, and others, following the publication of leaked damning FIAU reports.

We agree with the Leader of the Opposition who said that this is not an election on proposals but one based on principles. Protecting the rule of law, good governance and democracy have again, unfortunately, become priorities for this nation.

We thought former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami laid these issues to rest after taking power in 1987 tasking himself and his government to restore the rule of law. We were more than certain that we’d never go back to fight for the freedom of speech, liberty of association and to eradicate corruption within the governing politicians after Malta joined the European Union in 2014. We were wrong, or naïve, because these issues came to haunt us during the past four years.

Make no mistake, we are not asserting that there was no corruption under the past Nationalist administrations, or during the short stint in Government led by former Prime Minister Alfred Sant, but the difference lies in the fact that never did we experience corruption happening under the Prime Minister’s nose in his Castille edifice and never have we seen a Prime Minister defending unconditionally his Chief of Staff and his Energy Minister who are under multiple magisterial investigations for kickbacks and money laundering.

The inability to act on FIAU reports by the Police Commissioner reminds us of the then police commissioner Lawrence Pullicino, during the 1980s, who was found guilty and served time. Back then the police was an accomplice of a frame-up on a private citizen, now the police commissioner is an accomplice by failing to investigate on the basis of the FIAU reports he held under wraps.

Yet with all that is going on during this tense election campaign, one little voice sounded the alarm on a shocking revelation. It was Alternattiva Demokratika’s Leader, Arnold Cassola who during the university Leaders’ debate said that Maltese workers were being paid less than the minimum wage to manufacture plastic toys from home.

The chilling revelation left the other leaders speechless, and speechless they remained when this newspaper investigated the matter further and confirmed that the instigator of precarious work is none the less giant German exporter Playmobil.

We exposed the facts how Maltese workers where paid €1.90 an hour to assemble plastic figures from home. The company CEO declined to comment, however, it’s the silence from both political parties that is deafening in this chaotic campaign.

In 2013 precarious work was one of the top concerning issues of the campaign. The GWU protested heavily on the matter and the Labour Party promised to eradicate precarious work. Ironically, back then, precarious work was mainly linked to immigrants who took Maltese jobs for less than the minimum wage.

Interestingly migration is nowhere to be found in the issues of concern during this election, but that is beside the point. Incredibly, Playmobil was caught instigating precarious work amongst Maltese workers but none of the political parties took up the issue during this campaign.

Only yesterday, the top brass of the GWU hosted Joseph Muscat and treated him to a hard-core rally but there was no mention of ‘precarious work’ or of the Playmobil scandal for that matter.

One could argue that parties want to thread cautiously not to ruffle the feathers of one of Malta’s top exporters that employ hundreds of full-time workers, but if this is the case then we know for sure that our representatives in Parliament are weak in front of big business.    

It is a shame that both parties are so concerned in gathering every possible vote but when it comes to the small vulnerable citizen, who by the way has a vote, they are unable to offer tangible support and possible solutions.