Prime Minister Robert Abela was somewhat offended when he was told that he could not be described as a socialist.
When confronted by journalists on the subject, he went into a long diatribe to explain that he upholds all the basic principles of what socialism is all about – not the “equal sharing of miseries”, as Winston Churchill once described it, but the “distribution of wealth”, according to our own premier.
The last weeks, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of Labour’s return to power in 2013 and the conclusion of the first year of this current term, have not been easy for Abela and the Labour government.
The ruling on the hospitals deal, declared as “fraudulent” by a judge, has severely hit Labour’s credibility, and as Abela and friends struggle to contain its negative effects, surveys held recently show that the Labour movement has lost support.
So what does Labour do in a bid to deflect attention and attempt to win back some votes? It goes back to its old tricks of trying to appease the people by dishing out some financial goodies which, this time, come in the form of increases in children’s allowances and stipends.
(Abela announced the move on the eve of Freedom Day, when he was addressing a party activity as PL leader, not as Prime Minister. Labour has never understood the distinction that there should be between party and government, and this was yet another occasion when Abela, as his predecessor Joseph Muscat did so many times, used a PL activity to proclaim something which should have been done as head of government, not as party leader.)
Labour has resorted to such hand-outs many times as a smokescreen, using the gullibility of many to come across as being a benevolent government. Cheques which refund taxes that have already been paid by workers have become a yearly occurrence, while during the Covid pandemic we had a voucher system too in a bid to keep people happy and make them believe that the government was taking good care of them in a time of crisis.
This system has now reached a new level with Abela’s declaration last Thursday, as it is clear to anyone who is not blinkered to see that the increase in children’s allowances and stipends is being delivered as a way through which the government wants to placate the people’s anger and regain the ground it has lost. It is a sign of a government in distress.
The Nationalist Party’s accusation that the Labour government has squandered €400 million of taxes in the hospitals deal has been effective enough to push the government into saying it will do its best to try to recoup the money, or at least part of it, and to now offer the stipends and children’s allowance treat.
The political ploy might not work this time.
Because there is anger not only about the way the government handled the hospitals’ deal and the landmark judgment to rescind it. There is also resentment about how people close to the top within the Labour circles are pocketing lucrative salaries and pigging out by competing for as many directorships and appointments as possible.
This has been known for quite a while, but when it is confirmed by the “everyone pigs out” comment that was made by Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar in a leaked Whatsapp exchange it takes on a new meaning.
It suggests that, after all, the “Malta Taghna Lkoll” (Malta belongs to us all) was as “fraudulent” as the hospitals deal. It should be realised, by those who have not already caught on, that what was really intended was to have abundance for the few, with some morsels for the rest of us.
When Abela tried to defend his “socialism”, he said that everyone, from whatever background, should have the opportunity to climb up the social ladder.
What the PM has not realised – or does not want to understand – is that people are going down, not up, the social ladder, as statistics related to people in poverty or at risk of poverty show.
The distance between the two extremities – between people who live in luxury and those who can’t make ends meet – is growing.
At the same time, those who live in between – the bulk of our society – are also struggling, cutting down on their expenses and reducing their lifestyle to be able to cope.
Labour tries to make believe that it is still the workers’ party, but today it is much closer to big business than to the working class.
That, then, it tries to feed the crumbs expecting a “thank you” while those closest to it gorge themselves in banquets is an insult to people who think with their own brain.