The government’s strategy to counter the rise in energy prices is clear. The price increases are being absorbed to keep prices stable. The government can do this because in recent years, there has been strong economic growth which has made higher levels of debt managable. Enough financial space exists to accomodate the consequent rise in government spending.
It is a strategy that makes sense and is succeeding in its aims. Inflation in the islands has been kept under control.
Problems will arise if price rises will continue to prevail for a long time internationally. Unfortunately the war in the Ukraine does not seem to be moving towards a conclusion in the short term. While the effects of the Covid pandemic have faded out, the war is now the major cause of inflation. Which is why voices of caution have been raised to warn that Malta should prepare as of now to adjust the thrust of its anti-inflation approach from one that spreads its beneficial impact across the board, to one that benefits in a more focussed manner the least well off.
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EXILE AND FASCISM
An important episode in Malta’s political history to which reference is frequently made, even in today’s political discourse, is the deportation of a number of Maltese citizens, some of whom came from the elite of the time. This happened during the Second World War, when Malta was still a colony. The exiles, who were deported without having been subjected to a due legal process were considered as a threat to fortress Malta at a time of war.
Many were “in favour” of Italian culture. Others were said to have Fascist sympathies.
What is still not clear (at least as far as I’m concerned) is whether those concerned understood the fascist message and thoroughly agreed with it. What did they think about Fascist imperialist policies or the persecution of anti-fascists?
These would not be meaningless questions to ask. At the same time that pro-Italian Maltese were being investigated, the Catholic Church among others, was describing the Fascist phenomenon, inclusive of Mussolini, as “providential”.
How was the line drawn in those days between promoting Italian culture and rooting for Fascism?
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DOUBLE PAY
Scandals about how much politicians earn do not arise only in Malta. Manfred Weber the head of the Popular Party in the European Parliament is being criticised by members of his own group on this score. The claim is that he is getting double pay -- as an MEP; and as the leader of the European Popular party.
His predecessors as leaders were paid; he continued to receive the salary they did. The difference being that they were not MEPs, as he is.
The “traditional” European right is under pressure of a new sort. On the one hand it has lost the state power it used to enjoy in Germany, France and Spain; on the other hand, the “extreme” right is on the rise. Weber is apparently among those who wish to work closer with the “extreme” right in order to safeguard the political predominance that the traditional right benefitted from for a long while in the EP. This story of Weber earning double pay is not helping to enhance his credibility.