The most delicate balancing act of governing a country must be securing just the right level of public intervention needed to address societal challenges. While theories and political positions have varied over decades and continents, it is now generally accepted in modern democracies that the state should be there to protect its citizens and their livelihood, but should abstain from being there when it’s intervention risks disturbing markets with no evident public good.
A look at present day Malta appears, however, to challenge the seemingly universally accepted. This week, reports in The Shift tell how the state has allegedly intervened to carry the tax burden of a private company to the tune of 40 million euros! The alleged public good behind that decision? Ensuring a generous profit for the company in question! The deal relates to the infamous Electrogas contract, doubtful enough for selling us electricity at higher prices than the interconnector. The protagonists are Konrad Mizzi and Minister Scicluna. These actions are not foreseen in any legal statute. The case has all the looks of government acting beyond its legitimate powers.
If confirmed, the deal is nothing short of scandalous and while Mizzi is now out in the desert, Professor Scicluna remains the Minister for Finance in Robert Abela’s cabinet. The revelation calls for two immediate actions from Abela himself. First, if confirmed, Minister Scicluna has to be rendered politically accountable for the massive misuse of public funds. Secondly, the excise duty waiver must stop immediately, together with an action to recover the 5 million euros already paid. We heard no denial from government to this effect. Abela’s failure to act makes him an accomplice.
Another case of over-zealous state intervention relates to the ongoing public inquiry into the barbaric assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. In a misplaced assertion of his perceived power over the inquiry, the PM arbitrarily set a December deadline for the inquiry to conclude its findings. The move yet again exposes Government’s miscalculation in judging when its presence is uncalled for. The inquiry is delivering its worth through a proper scrutiny of incidents and roles. The last thing we expected from Government is its bossing around on when it should wrap up its work. It will be ready when all the truth comes out, dear Prime Minister!
For a hundred cases of undue state militancy, including the myriad of direct orders to close friends, we have another hundred cases of the state missing in action, where public authority is absent when it should be present with its rule and its comfort to those in need.
A clearly heart breaking case of state missing in action relates to the tragic death of Miriam Pace in her Santa Venera home. The family has been left alone to deal with the aftermath in the most brutal manner. PM Abela’s promise for a public inquiry on this incident was apparently just a whimsical outburst while visiting the site, to be forgotten by the time he was driven to Castille. No such inquiry was appointed. To make matters worse, the family remains deprived of the most personal possessions, still under piles of rubble on site. The lengthy quest for civil and public responsibility translates into a deadlock situation for the family which would be homeless were it not for the solidarity of extended family. Now this is a case where state intervention would be most appropriate. To begin with, the incident is not without relation to the half-baked building reform led by government itself earlier last year, nor without link to the less than perfect monitoring and enforcement of public authorities on similar building projects. Such a case would have warranted direct government intervention to rebuild the family home, delivering on the public wave of solidarity for the family and cutting through the responsibility questions which may, in any event, be answered in due time.
This week we had yet another painful illustration of the state’s absence where needed, this time out at sea, where the security of Maltese citizens is at stake. Lampuki fishermen are once again under threat from Tunisian poachers plundering their catch on their own devices. The lampuki fishing method requires months’ long preparations by Maltese and Gozitan fishermen who need to prepare specially designed floaters attached to sea bed anchors tied to palm leaves which attract the seasonal lampuki bonanza. It is a hybrid between fishing and fish-farming, as the floating devices are then regularly harvested by their owners. Since a few years ago however, the harvest is being done by others who do not plough the field nor sow the seeds. I had raised the matter to European level back in 2018, with the European Commission finally proposing wording to protect the Maltese in the Mediterranean fisheries Convention where Tunisia is also signatory.
Government had therefore all the reason and legal backing to act to protect Maltese interests out at sea. That is in fact what Minister Refalo promised earlier on in August, that the Armed Forces will be present in the fishing zones to deter illegal fishing by the Tunisian vessels. Such promise turned out however to be just a case of good TV, as when contacted by the fishermen in distress, the armed forces replied that they will not assist.
Another case of the state missing in its duties of solidarity and assistance. This particular one is particularly upsetting given the hard life of fishermen to secure a living, and feeding thousands of families with an economic and healthy food, part and parcel of Maltese tradition. By leaving them to their own devices, risking life and limb at sea, the government is not only failing the fishermen and their families, it is failing all of us in our bond of solidarity towards each other as Maltese citizens.
Peter Agius, MEP candidate and EU expert
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