Campaigning ahead of the last general election, I championed a brand of politics that placed dignity and respect at the centre of the process - politics with heart. As an economist, I often was asked what I meant by it, and how human values can be reconciled with the quick paced nature of the modern free market. In my mind there was never a contradiction, and the humble business I run, which I have painstakingly grown from the ground up, together with a small army of people with an enormous heart, hailing from all over the globe, is the living, breathing proof of it.
Why am I saying all this? This week, the Minister for Finance baffled everyone with his speech, as he delivered a very dangerous blow to the very delicate balance that existed, if any, in our fragile socio-economic landscape.
We have spoken at length on how this Government has never really had an economic plan to speak of, and the wildly unsustainable model it has operated to grow the economy was built on ferrying in thousands upon thousands of third country nationals, seeking a better life, to slave away in the lower echelons of our economy.
Let's not forget that this model knows its birth to a time when Minister Caruana was leading the then newly rebranded Jobs+, which was responsible for opening the floodgates on the inward migration of workers.
Fast-forward a few years, and Caruana serendipitously finds himself managing the country's finances, and while the model continues to creek on, it starts showing some serious signs of fatigue. The last electoral cycle was solid proof of this as even the staunchest supporters had started to voice their concerns rather vociferously and something needed to be done.
As the Nationalist Party, we argued at length about the need to start exploring alternative economic growth models, that are less reliant on volumes and capitalise more on value added. This was always our mantra, having created entire sectors that built on the strengths of the country without needing to import thousands of workers, such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, aviation, gaming and others, precisely because even as far back as twenty years, past PN administrations had the vision to pre-empt the situation we find ourselves in today.
The Labour Party dismissed all of this and repeatedly claimed that all was on track and nothing needed changing.
Now the Minister for Finance is telling us that this is an issue that needs addressing, without telling us what the issue is, and without telling us exactly what it is he is addressing.
What is it exactly, in economic terms, that the Minister for Finance is trying to achieve? Is he trying to curb the number of TCNs arriving to Malta? And in that case, how is he redesigning the economy not to be so dependent on them?
Social partners have been telling the government that the country needs to help businesses invest in R+D, automation, digitisation, AI, and get generally better prepared for the future. No word on any of that unfortunately. Just a series of unjust measures that will be painful for everyone.
Because let's face it. This will not only effect third country nationals. It will affect the thousands of businesses that employ them, who pay directly or indirectly for a lot of the fees they incur, and who treat them like family.
As a small business owner, I can speak from experience, and the atmosphere at work this week was heavy, for lack of a better word.
It takes a special kind of cheek to celebrate a bonus for the well-off, while introducing new tariffs and burdens for the weakest amongst us. In the very same speech!
This is heartless politics. It is a prime example of a government which is clueless, has no plan for the future and is now showing very serious signs of lack of vision for society, the economy and the law-abiding businesses that run the show.