Anthony Zarb Dimech

Way back, when I was a student in public administration, I used to think and believe that the political system of Malta was based on some magical model where the outputs were dependent on the inputs of the electorate: i.e. the individual voters and the lobby groups, who place demands on the political parties prior to an election. I used to believe that the man/woman in the street was the one who decides the election through his/her vote and that outputs are based on these demands. I was wrong in many ways with regard to Malta’s political scene.

In Malta’s case, it is becoming more clearly evident that the most powerful lobby group is the construction sector. This sector is the one that decides the inputs and outputs of the system. It is the most powerful industry which decides where to build and how much to build, irrespective of whom is in power. 

Verily, the whole economic wheel goes around this sector through the huge multiplier effect it creates. Whether it is the building of rods, hotels, high-rise buildings and the rampant destruction of the aesthetic and ecological environment around us, the interests of this sector come first.

In the face of all this, we small ordinary middle and working class voters are just the ‘insignificant’ pawns that help political parties get into power in a political game where this big business is the main sponsor that finances the two large political parties of these islands. As young voters become eligible to vote at each election (estimated at 15,000), many might not realise this not so evident truth – they may be the new blood that can decide an election.

The people who own the government of the day are really the property tycoons whose names are well known and need no introduction. No matter how many environmental groups are set up to create awareness on environmental issues, and no matter how many individual well-meaning politicians who change political party speak up, the construction, quarrying, cement industries rule.

Blinded by power, some politicians from both sides of the House fall prey to the temptation of corruption as the country sinks and is sucked under the poor image it is presenting to international financial institutions. But many continue to allow power to corrupt them to the detriment of the country as a whole.

As the focus of the country’s attention goes and is fixed on these corruption scandals, we must not forget other important issues that are being by and large sidelined. These are just a few of these concerns that come to mind:

·       The property rent market for the working class people. The market price of rent has risen to such an extent that many are struggling to make ends meet given their wage income.

·       The estimated 30,000 foreign workers who come from all nationalities as cheap labour to fill in jobs in the construction, nursing, tourism and other sectors. The Maltese are becoming far too laid back and seem to refuse ‘menial’ work. 

·       The poor state of the roads, traffic density and parking problems which are causing so much stress on the roads.

·       The low standard of morality and values of the country as a whole; where as long as the pocket is full of euro, many do not care who is in government and adieu to everything else.

·       The number of fatal traffic accidents involving motorcycles and hence the safety of roads.

·       The rise of small patriotic and nationalistic movements and parties in reaction to Muslim presence and influence in Maltese society.

·       The escalation of crime involving foreign nationals on Maltese citizens and between Maltese citizens themselves.

·       The destruction of our living environment where noise and other pollution is causing so much stress and tension.

·       The fast pace of life and the gadget life-style which is most unhealthy for children.

·       The general cleanliness and upkeep of streets and roads.

The best protectors of a nation state are its individual citizens. These are the honest and hard-working individual people that make up the united front and voice of a nation crying out for justice, good and clean governance and the protection of the legacy for which our forefathers worked so hard. Vox popoli is Vox Dei: The voice of the people is the voice of God. Let us not allow the ‘smoke screen’ of the corruption issue blinker us or, worse still, blind us to other important issues that sooner or later will surface.