Two weeks after the terrorist attacks, in Brussels there still prevails a certain sense of shock. Or so it seemed to me.  All at once, it’s like a fear that had been kept under wraps for along time, but which has now come into the open with the greatest brutality. The shock was greater because though the threat was acknowledged, it had continued to be ignored.

I may be exaggerating, still streets appeared less crowded than usual. Shops which used to be open, stayed closed in mid-week.

At least the dispute about how to guarantee security there, which erupted last week at Zaventem airport, has been resolved. Flights have started to leave, among them Air Malta’s. A direct flight between Malta and Brussels is much better than a long coach journey to Dusseldorf, from which to Malta; or a flight to Paris or Amsterdam, following which a train journey to the Belgian capital.

Brussels and its inhabitants need to examine deeply what is making terror acts possible and how these had best be met. The terror threat remains with us; it should not be ignored any further.

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Parties

In this country, we do know how to make believe we are looking elsewhere, so that we fail to notice and understand what is really happening.

Was there anybody who could have had any doubt regarding what is supposed to happen during two or three days of non-stop partying at Qawra, which were strongly marketed abroad?

We heard and read about the trouble on the plane or planes which brought over partygoers – the cases of drug trafficking and lampant drug use – the filth and destruction left behind for Qawra residents to live with, at the sites where the parties were held – the financial windfall that the occasion provided for some businesses.

The question is: do we as a country need to promote this type of activity? I think not.

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Panama Papers

Beyond the local political controversy, the furore caused by the Panama papers scandal is a cause for concern in Malta. It is again placing financial services under strict scrutiny, at a time when they are already under a cloud. Following the Luxleaks scandal, a year and a half ago, the target was the financial transactions carried out by the big multinational companies.

Right from the start it was obvious what the next target would be: the financial transactions of individuals and small enterprises endowed one way or the other with substantial funds. The Panama papers have provided widespread information about this. They will certainly trigger new efforts to put limits on financial services.

Politically it will be very difficult to stop this. Morally, there is little to no justification for doing so.

This country has over the last thirty years benefitted a lot from financial services. They have become now possibly the most important engine of the Maltese economy. However in European fora, it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend their acceptability.

In their wake then, the next target will be the internet gaming sector, which has also become here quite a powerful economic engine.