With local politicians under starters’ orders for a general election race, the Maltese political weather forecast seems to be registering marked and unexpected changes. Inclement weather has been gusting from the direction of Brussels. Environmentalists are in high dudgeon. Disgruntled PN supporters stayed at home in substantial numbers during the latest round of local elections.
The least expected, and the most worrying factor for the Gonzi administration, is the bout of sudden disenchantment demonstrated in Brussels.
The European Parliament has passed a resolution, by a clear majority, putting Malta in the dock. It urged the Gonzi administration to comply fully with EU law on the hunting and trapping of birds in spring. The EU Commission gave Malta a month’s notice to react to the charge that it is in breach of the EU Bird Directive.
This blow came at a time when the Gonzi administration was poised to launch a feel-good campaign, riding on the wave of the Smart City coup, and the improving prospects of joining the euro zone.
Peremptory requests
It never shines, but it pours. The EU Commission has peremptorily requested the Malta government (a) to conform to the EU landfills directive, and to submit two reports on greenhouse gas emissions, in order to avoid legal action, and (b) to ask for clarifications with regard to the development zones extension exercise.
The EU Commission has also launched infringement procedures against Malta (as well as Romania, Cyprus, Poland and Hungary) by way of a “formal notice”, and requested an amendment of Malta’s car registration tax rules, which discriminate against second-hand cars imported from other EU member States.
Whether or not this reflects lack of patience in Brussels may be immaterial. Whether or not it exposes the incompetence of the Maltese government and its bureaucracy on a worldwide scale may be disturbing. The impact it has on the Maltese electoral landscape is going to be decisive.
The Maltese electorate had been assured in the past that EU membership was going to lead to a bed of roses. Accession opened up opportunities for people with initiative and conferred safeguards. But it has also ushered in fiscal burdens, austerity and a measure of economic turbulence.
Electoral reaction
The electoral reaction to it all was gradual but consistent. It was expressed in the course of five subsequent electoral consultations, which saw the PN share of the vote decline while that of the Opposition Labour Party increased.
The major local factors that helped to tilt the scales were the escalating tax burden and the outrage of the environmentalist movement on burning issues such as the depredations of speculators, the fantasies and inadequacies of MEPA, pollution, and various threats to our heritage.
It begins to look that the logic of “right” and “left” in politics is dead,
and that there is growing awareness that Malta needs a government
that manages to make the people
feel responsible for the way the economy grows, and one that understands and is responsive to shakers and movers of genuine growth. Malta needs a government that allows technocrats to have an active role in the decision-making process, and are not relegated to the role of advisers.
These are businesslike considerations observers elsewhere regard as a matter of fact.
Not so in this litigious, tight little island where partisanship rules and divisions predominate.
There was a time when political dwarfs, on each side of the political divide, flew in the face of such considerations and ruled the roost. Not so, today.
In modern-day conditions, Brussels can draw a line in the sand, and the electorate is becoming increasingly conscious of its ability to do the rest.
The upcoming general election will mark examination- time for both the electorate and the politicians.
Will the EU undertake the role of invigilator?
jgv@onvol,net