Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1091272
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 INTERVIEW You are about to launch your official campaign, under the slogan: 'To the Next Level' [Lejn il-Livell Li Jmiss]. According to the Labour Pary's current slogan, Malta is already at the 'Best Time Possible' [L-Aqwa Zmien]. Put those two slogans together, and… isn't there a contradiction? If this is the best it can ever be… how can there be a 'next level' to go to? My experience has taught me that, even if you believe you are at a very good level already, you always have to keep look- ing forward, and have the am- bition to always improve. That is my intention. If you look at Malta's economic situation to- day, compared to the situation before 2013 – when we often used to talk about the deficit, unemployment, and so on – to- day there has been a huge leap forward. Today, we are talking about a surplus; people do have jobs…. to the extent that we are now talking about improving salaries and conditions... and this, to me, is where the 'next level' comes in. When I visit companies, they tell me that one of their biggest headaches at the moment is manpower. They are not finding enough people for the jobs that need filling… So much so, that we are now importing workers from overseas… Yes, but even that doesn't al- ways address the issue. Recently, for example, I visited Maypole [a bakery] and the owner's idea – which I think is very positive – is to encourage students, through courses at Mcast, to once again start picking up traditional crafts and trades: in this case, to bake Maltese bread, pastizzi, ftira, etc… so that he can employ Maltese workers who have been trained. So yes, we do still need to look forward. It is, in fact, for this very reason that we can af- ford to talk about a 'next level': because today, the country's economic foundation is on se- cure footing. If it wasn't secure, I wouldn't even dream of talk about 'where I'd like to go'. But today, with things as they stand, and after five years' experience in the European Parliament, I feel it is my responsibility to step forward with a vision. I want people to look at that vision, and tell me if they agree with it, or think it needs improving here or there. This is why I asked people to tell me what they think are the priorities I should be focus- ing on. I could have a hundred and one ideas… but at the end of the day, people live their every- day lives in different realities… Perhaps, but… what is the 'next level', anyway? Where do you think Malta has to focus on, primarily? For me, the next level is about the environment: cleaner air, less noise pollution. It is also about standards. If there is construction next door… why should I suffer the effects of dust, non-stop noise… why shouldn't there be more enforcement in this regard? If you do any house visits in my neighbourhood, you'll be hearing a lot about that… I'm sure. Another issue is that, while it is good that more peo- ple are working and earning money, we have to ensure that they also get to spend time with their families. That there are places they can go to with their families: to have a picnic, to spend time away from the stress of work or family life. Some people may consider these as 'micro-issues'… but if we are going to make a quantum leap forward in the environment, that, to me, links directly with mental health. Why are we in a situation, today, where so many more young people suffer from mental health issues? Could it have something to do with the lack of opportunities for families to spend time together? Anoth- er question is, why are we still in a situation today – in 2019 – where women are paid less than men for the same work? I would like to reach a state where the salary disparity no longer exists. These are the things I would like to focus on… The issues you mention can also be described as the 'price to pay' for economic success. The construction boom, for instance, is directly related to an increase in population on account of the demand for foreign workers. So is the increase in rental prices, and all the related social issues. Are you hinting, then, that in focusing on the economy – and cultivating a 'pro-business' image – the Labour Party has lost sight of its primary vocation as a Socialist movement? Any country is always in a state of flux. No country stays still over the course of a year. And any changes will bring about other changes, that al- so have to be catered for. So, I wouldn't say it is a 'price to pay'. I would say that the coun- try is moving forward econom- ically… so let us make sure that there aren't any negative consequences. After all, within the Labour Party, we don't go around saying that everything is champagne and roses [ward u zahar]… the rent issue is a case in point. Just because the country is doing well, it doesn't mean that all families are do- ing well, too. Obviously, some will be struggling. And it's not always just economic issues. We have more and more families where the parents are separated. We need to look at the effects it may have on the children. That family where the child is brought up by the grandparents, who can't help them with home- work… we need to see that those children have all the support they need. Because otherwise, 10 years down the line, we will 'lose' those children. That's not what I want. Ten years down the line, I want children who are geared up to have a career in which they are happy, that earns them money, that allows them to maintain their families… that is the kind of shift I'd like to see. That is why we need policies to address these 'vacuums' that are coming to the surface. Let's talk about gender disparity. Leaving aside salaries and quotas for the time being: there seems to be a disparity also in perception and public reactions. President Marie-Louise Coleiro recently spoke about being 'criticised for being a woman'… and there are many examples of other women being singled out for gender-based dis- crimination, in a political environment dominated by men. How seriously does this affect women in Maltese politics today? It is a reality: I have faced it myself. When I contested my first election – considering that, at the time, I was known only from television – nobody said that was because I had a law degree, or that I was the first female news editor on Maltese TV. They said it was because I read the news on One… besides a lot of other 'comments'. But I had a choice: I could have ei- ther kept complaining about the Labour MEP MIRIAM DALLI is working hard on her re-election campaign, and also to ensure that Maltese women get the same opportunities – in Maltese politics, and elsewhere – as men. But are those the only targets she has set for herself? Taking it to the next Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt