Too much is said about  how kind the Maltese are as a nation. Perhaps it’s true and there’s a genuine ring in what’s said.

We also proclaim that we care a lot about our fellows and those who are in distress. One cannot deny that such is the case.

However what we miss most is some attention about not letting this sentiment of solidarity towards others become a screen for twisted ways by which we decide how to distribute wealth and who gets what.

Poverty and social exclusion do not happen haphazardly. They result from the ways by which society is organized, for better or worse. How responsibilities are shared out, and then how responsibility is assumed for what has been done or not – all these ways of behaving constitute an integral part of the sense of kindness that we profess (or contrariwise, its lack...; but no, there can be no such lack, for we’ve already agreed that as a nation, the Maltese are really and truly, a kind people...)

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Sanctions busting

A serious misdemeanour committed by the owner of Pilatus Bank which led him to be strongly sanctioned by the US first, and then by Euroepan financial authorities, was the following: he allegedly ran his financial affairs in a way that allowed him to evade the embargoes which the US was applying to two countries – his own, Iran and Venezuela – when they came to make payments to each other for projects they were jointly carrying out.

The US has unilaterally terminated participation in the nuclear agreement with Iran and reactivated financial sanctions on this country. The European Union is among those who are seeking for ways and means by which to evade these new sanctions. There was even talk about new financial vehicles that could be created to cover sales transactions between them and Iran, using methods that would evade US sanctions.

Technically, what they have been discussing is hardly different from what the Pilatus boss was allegedly attempting to do, no doubt in the interests of his family which had business interests in Venezuela, but also surely in line with the policies of the Iranian government.

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US elections

Controversies about the outcome of the US mid-term elections took time to calm down. Some judge the results in terms of a half empty glass, the rest as one that’s half full.

What is interesting in the developments that have occurred is that they provide another indication of America’s success in introducing counterbalances within its political system. They prevent anybody from remaining dominant for too long: not the White House, not Congress, not the Courts; not Democrats nor Republicans; not the states nor the federal government.

All of them are continually pushing to achieve dominance. Even when they succeed for some time, an awareness seems to prevail about how in a short while, it will be lost. I rather like this kind of mechanism in a democratic system although it has two disadvantages: polarisation is a running sore (but doesn’t the same occur in our country?); and very important decisions get caught too often in a political gridlock.