Personally I did not envisage it would be otherwise; the 2024 budget would present reasonable and well reasoned proposals covering the government’s way forward given today’s fiscal, financial and economic state of affairs. The measures that have been laid out are all socially progressive, without rushing too fast forward, nor ending up too weak by keeping back from what needs to be done. As in the Goldilocks story, they are not too hot, nor too cold, but just right.
However the real challenge facing the government could be this: Not that people will react negatively to the budget, since much of what it carries is positive. But that other matters relative to governance get a stronger roll. I am not referring to court judgements where I tend to agree with the Prime Minister, that these could be politically coloured, even if subconsciously. More of a worry are the persisting popular complaints coming from individuals who do not expect any government favour for they are quite able to succeed on their own. And they’re Labourites. However their reservations about certain aspects of the Maltese political and social reality are becoming more stringent.
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PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
When the nomination of a President of the European Commission as of the year 2024 comes on the agenda, there should be just one objective: that of bringing back a political balance to determine who gets chosen. This can only be done by choosing a president who comes from the socialist ranks.
Not so long ago, the custom was to observe some kind of balance between the left and the right. But since the year 2004 now, the post has been occupied by right wingers. There were Barroso, Juncker and von der Leyen. The time has arrived to turn to somebody from the left for the post.
Ironically, the socialist group in the EP has adopted the position that it is the leader of the party which elects the most MEPs who should become President of the European Commission. I never agreed with this obtuse proposal.
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EXTREMISTS WIN
In the war between Israel and Hamas the extremists of both sides are bound to win. The Palestinian people will first and foremost come out on the losing side, and will need years to recover from the trauma that they have been going through. Then the people of Israel will find that new generations of terrorists are arising against it, born from the hate and despair that have been ignited.
Wise voices in Israel and among the Palestinian people have for long been counselling that what has been taking place these past years would reinforce extremist positions, with both sides refusing to recognize at all the rights of the other. Effectively their aim was to totally demolish the other side.
Voices from outside which urge the adoption of a just solution are accused of supporting one side at the expense of the other, as they condemn without any reservations the atrocities committed by Hamas or as they do the same regarding the war crimes committed by Israel in its merciless bombing of the Gaza territory. There could hardly be a clearer demonstration of how extremism has triumphed.