There's not enough discussion about "the poor". Indeed even the usage of that expression has become rare, almost as if we believe it sounds too religious and hardly a precise one sociologically. And yet, it was Christ who had sociologically been most accurate when he stated that "the poor will always be with you; but not I".

People who believe that the poor among us have now become a negligible minority probably do not consider that to be poor, it is not only financial means that need to be absent, but that there are also educational, cultural and social disadvantages which make for poverty. You find such disadvantages among illiterates and semi-literates; broken families; persons with disabilities; people with mental health problems; those who lack decent accomodation;old people and pensioners; immigrants.

It could be that their situation is improving. Still when insisting that the poor are getting adequate relief, we should compare this to what others are getting. One could for instance examine the measures laid out in the 2019 budget to check whether any given measure benefitted mostly the poor or those who are faring much better.

You'll find that such measures actually benefit mostly the latter. Instead of levelling out, the divergence between the poor and the rest of us is continuing to increase.

 

***

CROCODILE TEARS

 

One cannot but remain unimpressed by those who now lament and shed tears at the agony in which Maltese agriculture finds itself. It's as if for them, all this has been an unexpected turn of events.

For almost three decades, my colleagues and I warned as to what would happen when Malta became a full member of the European Union: agriculture would get a beating. We were accused of being anti-Europe - which was quite a fable. We were simply pointing out that European rules for managing agriculture were just not appropriate for the island. They made sense for countries with large stretches of farmland.

While endowed only with limited resources, our farmers were going to be placed in competiton with producers who could deliver the output of their farms to the market at a much cheaper price. What was bound to happen, would happen. Excuses and "explanations" were churned out in floods to refute something that was very obvious.

So today, I must say with regret, when I listen to the weeping and laments over the future of Maltese farming, I have to conclude once more, that crocodile tears are being shed.

***

MERKEL

I could only admire the skill with which over the years Chancellor Merkel carried out her tasks: quietly, patiently, without theatrics, slowly. The German people got usedto considering that in her, they had a solid and powerful defender of their interests and provided her with a sequence of political victories.

Today her party and its allies are almost with their backs to the wall. In her position, Merkel is facing strong criticism. Many are looking forward to her approaching end.  About this, we shall see.

Even so, the question remains: The political damage that Merkel has endured arose during the last three years. A principal reason for this was her immigration policy. In the summer of 2015, what motivated the Chancellor to all of a sudden, open the borders of her country to the "refugees" arriving in their hundreds of thousands?

 

 

25October 2018