Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1073679
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 JANUARY 2019 NEWS ANALYSIS JAMES DEBONO SWITCH the clock back to 2009. Surveys at that time showed electricity bills and inflation as the major con- cerns of the Maltese public. The introduction of divorce, gay marriage and the 'morn- ing after' pill seemed light years away, the play Stitching was banned and a university publication was taken to court for publishing an explicit short story. On the economic front Malta managed to keep un- employment low but was still reeling from the global finan- cial crisis registering a deficit of €218.2million. 10 years later the country oc- cupies the top rank in LGBT rights in Europe, its economy is growing at a fast rate at- tracting 55,000 foreign work- ers (up from 9,000 in 2009) and its finances have regis- tered a €392.7million surplus in 2017. Moreover fiscal discipline has not come at a social cost. Instead of austerity Malta has seen increased social spending on universal child care. Censorship laws have been relaxed, the 'morning after' pill has been introduced and the country is now even con- sidering legalising cannabis for recreational use. Traffic, immigration and the environment have emerged as the people's top concerns. With the exception of ris- ing property prices, concerns have shifted from bread and butter issues to those related to quality of life. It was therefore no surprise that Muscat used the Face- book 10-year-challenge meme to underline these changes, thus hinting that legacy will be an important aspect of Labour's campaign for MEP elections which may also co- incide with his exit from the party's leadership. Labour will be expecting the electorate to seal this legacy, either to thank Muscat before departing or to encourage him to stay on. But not everything has changed since 2009. This is a list of five things which have not changed in the last ten years but which may change in the next decade. 1. Female political representation Muscat himself in his speech acknowledged that the level of female representation re- mains one of the things which has not changed in the past 10 years. Although the number of female MPs has increased slightly from five female MPs in 2008 to eight MPs in 2017, women remain largely unrep- resented. In a clear hint that female representation represents the next frontier for Labour's re- formist agenda, Muscat, who favours positive discrimina- tion to redress the historic imbalance, referred to the "se- rious discussion" the country needs to have on this topic. It will provide Muscat with another opportunity to seal his legacy. This is one area where drastic changes are bound to happen in the next few years. 2. Abortion remains illegal in all cases Malta is the only EU country that bans abortion in all cases, and does not have an excep- tion for situations where the woman's life is in danger. The past decade has seen Malta becoming even more isolated especially after Ire- land voted to put an end to its constitutional ban on abor- tion. Yet 10 years down the line although legal changes are still excluded by Muscat's government the subject is less of a taboo. Not only has the Women's Rights Foundation proposed legal changes, thus initiating a sensible debate on this top- ic, but people are now more ready to declare their pro- choice stance on the social media. Although the Nationalist Party has of late turned its historic opposition to abor- tion into an identity totem, this could in itself be a sign of apprehension on the future. While public opinion polls still register vast opposition to a more liberal abortion law this could reflect the absence of political representation of pro-choice views. Greater political represen- tation by women in the next decade and the election of pro-choice candidates to par- liament may herald a slow but steady change in public atti- tudes. Whether this will be enough for a change in legislation in the next 10 years remains to be seen. 3. Public land is still sold for cheap The transfer of cheap pub- lic land to private commer- cial groups has characterised the policies of both pre- and post-2013 governments. In 2010 the Gonzi admin- istration had tried to use the same recipe to push through a Muscat's 10-year challenge: Five things Legacy will be a key aspect of Labour's campaign for MEP and local elections. But while he is justified in f launting epochal changes his government has brought about, a number of things remain unchanged Although the Nationalist Party has of late turned its historic opposition to abortion into an identity totem, this could in itself be a sign of apprehension on the future