This recession seems to be with us.
Notwithstanding that our banks are solid, a signal has already been given with a reduction in profits made.
We will be hit by this recession, and its effects will be felt slowly. What with shift allowances cut down, lower working weeks, shifts being cancelled, part time workers temporarily laid off – the effects are all there.
The Nationalist government is committed to safeguard and protect the country as much as possible. It was a good thing that the people elected a Nationalist government, albeit by a wafer thin majority, as the alternative of having this crisis managed by crisis management by an alternative party would have meant a catastrophe.
A look towards other nations, such as Iceland where everything seems to have fallen out, gives one an idea of what could have happened to Malta. I attended the last Council of Europe session in Strasbourg, and a Swedish delegate told us that, at least in Sweden, they do have one bank which is healthy. Some consolation, although it’s one better than other countries.
Talk, discussions and papers were all on the financial crisis, its depth, its consequences, and, more important in the medium term, is who is going to pay the bill for all these bailouts. Some say it’s the taxpayers that will pay; others sustain it will be the exporters, or those countries who hold cash in their hands.
The bill must be paid. Remember, countries are bailing out bankers and their mistakes, and not the banks, or their commitments. As such, one other delegate compared this situation as a crime, committed by single people, that procured this financial crisis. Why not bring these people to court, he claimed. After all, they will be responsible for loss of jobs of a lot of persons, loss of money, investments, hopes and goals.
In this week too, one is hearing of our goings-on in Parliament. The motion to regulate the working of Parliament, coupled with the various barriers, obstacles and points of order on the other hand, would have confused more than one mind.
It is unfortunate that this situation comes to the fore after the Labour conference that has probably heated up some blood, but we must think with our mind and not with our hearts. Private motion bills by Members of Parliament seem to be a newly-found fashion, worth a lot in marketing terms, but less in substance. Parliament could even be blocked with such motions as there seems to be a bid to stop the government from working on its programme.
Wasting of time should be condemned, as we can all work fruitfully for the benefit of Malta, especially in these times. Well, I suppose the wolf may change his clothing but never his aims.
I sincerely hope for all that this period in time will soon come to an end, although it is said that we take longer to get in recession, and when it hits, we go downhill fast and take longer to recover. It is hoped that all the government efforts and the extra injection of funds will prove ourselves in the long run.
Robert Arrigo is a Nationalist MP