Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1113313
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MAY 2019 NEWS Leaders' debate on Xtra JAMES DEBONO FACING Joseph Muscat in their first televised debate on TVM's Xtra, Opposition leader Adrian Delia held his ground, but was outsmarted in the populist game with Muscat promising to turn us all into little rich men served by foreigners at the lower rungs. Faced with Delia's more abstract brand of pop- ulism on migration, Muscat promises to turn each one of us into "little rich men" (sinjuri żgħar): he turns the tables on the Opposition's concern on the increase of foreigners at the lower end of the labour market, by saying that given a choice he would rather have the Maltese move into high- level jobs than "picking rubbish in the streets". Muscat understands these popular aspirations, which in the first place were cultivated by past Nationalist governments. In his promise is the vision of a society where everyone can join the ranks of the petite bourgeoisie, where the work- ing class is allowed unlimited access to self- interest. That is why he picked on the "wealthy worker" (ħaddiema sinjuri) motif coined by dep- How Muscat wins the populist game in the week defined by muted racism on Malta's big labour inf lux The 'little rich men' uty leader Chris Fearne in his albeit wooden and dreadful 1 May speech. Still, Muscat's narrative per- petuates an 'us vs them' divide, in which foreigners serve as an accessory to the overrid- ing goal of turning the Mal- tese rich, possibly substitut- ing the native working class at the lower rungs so that the Maltese move one step up the ladder. By endorsing a racial division of labour, such dis- course contrasts with Muscat's government's own pretentions at creating a more inclusive society. Surely to some extent Mus- cat's vision reflects a reality in most advanced capitalist soci- eties. As aspirations changed, a greater segment of people in these countries started shun- ning certain jobs, which were occupied by others struggling to move up from even worse conditions in their homeland. In fact, one major shortcom- ing in Adrian Delia's 'smart migration' model is that it gives the impression that the only jobs foreigners are needed for are those at the top, when in reality an ageing population also needs more foreign work- ers in jobs like nursing and caring for the elderly. The other weakness in Delia's argument is that foreigners at the higher end are the ones to have contributed to pressures in the property market (as well as in the cost of living), which have squeezed the Maltese middle and working classes. Still Muscat's discourse is also reminiscent of a Dubai model where foreigners serve as accessories to the economic growth of their host country, both as well-paid expats at the higher end who live in sani- tised enclaves, and as lowly- paid strugglers without roots, stuck at the bottom end. One risk of such a model is that the Maltese working class itself gets squeezed in competition at the lower end of the labour market. Delia was quick to denounce this model as "classist". Yet this term may well be reversed on him for his declared pref- erence for EU workers, which are still the majority of foreign workers, and an apparent pref- erence to restrict foreigners at the top end of the labour mar- ket. The advantage for Muscat is that Delia seems more in- tent on ticking a "concern" Muscat may regret his pushback moment, but he is still willing to use his adversary's snowflake moment to tarnish his reputation as a migration hawk Adrian Delia and Joseph Muscat: let the foreigners come to us