Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1113313
18 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MAY 2019 INTERVIEW The Nationalist Party seems to be passing through a nadir in its 125-year history. It has now lost multiple elections on the trot; and recent surveys indicate it might fare even worse on 25 May. How do you account for this nosedive in the PN's electoral fortunes? Let me put it his way: the Na- tionalist Party lost an election al- most two years ago; but it didn't go into Opposition two years ago. It has now been in Opposi- tion for six years, after suffering two heavy defeats: one by 35,000 votes, and the other by almost 40,000. It is clear, then, that over the years the PN has lost a signifi- cant portion of its traditional vot- er-base. There are many reasons for this: the faction of people who can be defined as 'liberals' – who had always felt comfortable sup- porting the PN in the past – were disappointed by the party's han- dling of the divorce issue, and civil rights in general. They no longer felt represented by the party they had always believed in. Then there were other factions: businessmen, self-employed, entrepreneurs, etc. – who were irked by excessive bureaucracy in institutions such as MEPA, and various government depart- ments. So, from a party that had always 'opened the door' to these people, which had enabled their businesses to grow… the PN started to be perceived as the party that was making things dif- ficult for them. There was a feel- ing of 'tightness' in bureaucracy; a certain 'stuffiness' in the air. These people felt cut off from the PN. On top of that, there was naturally the element of time: 25 years in government worked against the party's interests. Put all that together, and you end up with thousands of people moving away from the Nationalist Party. That is what many people tell me on house visits… But that only explains why the PN lost in 2013: it doesn't account for the party's apparent failure to recoup any of its losses since then. Why is the PN finding it so difficult to rebuild itself? One of things the PN failed to do, over time, was to take stock of how society was changing. I remember, for instance, how Joe Friggieri – who had addressed a PN general council a few years ago – had said that, once Malta had joined the European Union, it was as though 'the windows had been opened, letting the fresh air in'… or words to that effect. What it implies is that, while the PN can be credited with steering Malta towards EU accession, it didn't do enough to prepare itself for the changes that the EU would bring about… But isn't that equally true today? This was something Joseph Muscat actually said just yesterday: the PN boasts about taking Malta into Europe… then puts up billboards complaining that Malta is now 'full of foreigners'. Given that the EU is based on the principle of freedom of movement: why was the PN so keen on joining in the first place, if it wanted to keep foreigners out of Malta? But we have to make a distinc- tion here, between EU nationals, and non-EU nationals. We knew from day one that, by joining the EU, EU citizens would be able to come and live here… Sorry, but there is no mention of this distinction on your billboards. They just say 'Mtlejna Barranin'. I was generous earlier by translating that as 'full of foreigners'. A more idiomatically accurate translation would be 'littered with foreigners'. Why should EU nationals, living and working here in full legality, not interpret that as a reference to themselves? But nobody is complaining about people from Sweden, or other EU countries, coming to Malta to work in well-paid sec- tors such as iGaming or financial services. On the contrary, these people are an asset to Malta: they come here bringing knowledge and experience to the sectors they work in; and they are also having the effect of increasing wages… They are increasing a lot more than just wages… rental prices have also skyrocketed, as has the cost of living in general. You yourself recently posted pictures of people sleeping on benches. Who is responsible for the inflation that makes rent unaffordable to those people: the African who came here by boat… or the EU national, earning a sky-high salary, who can afford to rent a one-bedroomed apartment for 2,000euro a month? But my point is that these peo- ple [EU nationals] are also bring- ing added value to the coun- try. Meanwhile, in many areas you will find small, three-room apartments, being rented by six or seven foreigners from non- EU countries, at 200euro a head. Until a few years ago, that same flat would not have been rented out for more than 400euro a month. Today, in places like Hamrun, Gzira, Birzebbuga, etc, these apartments are rented out for 1,200euro a month. So even those areas which used to be af- fordable to Maltese families, are now being priced out of reach… But what is causing all this inflationary pressure, if not the influx of highly-paid, skilled workers from the EU? Yet the PN seems to be blaming only the poor, unskilled immigrant from Africa and Asia. Why is the PN targeting such a poor, vulnerable minority group? We're not targeting anyone… How else can you describe a billboard describing 'foreigners' as 'the problem', if not a case of 'targeting the foreigner'? We're not targeting foreign- ers, but the government's policy. That is the problem here. The problem is that this government has made it a policy to attract low-paid workers from third countries where the local salaries and conditions are much lower than in Europe. Is it acceptable, for instance, that around 145 people were found living in a farm in Qormi? Do you accept that a whole category of third country nationals were recently found to be working for 1.45euro an hour? Today, with the govern- ment boasting about Malta hav- ing become 'the best in Europe'… I don't expect people to be getting paid 1.45euro an hour. I don't ex- pect to find people cooped up in tiny flats, or sleeping on benches because they can't afford rent. This is all happening due to this government's policies… Perhaps, but it's the PN's policy direction I'm questioning here. Why, for instance, do you distinguish between foreigners only on the basis of pay? The lower end of the salary scale is important, too… There are certain sectors where foreign employees are needed, and not always from the EU. We understand that; we are not talk- ing about restricting immigra- tion in those cases. All we are saying in that there needs to be a plan. Immigration needs to be better managed… Can you explain why we should trust the PN to come up with this plan, when it mismanaged immigration so completely in the past? Earlier you talked about places like Marsa, Birzebbuga, etc. Whose idea was it, to locate almost all Malta's open and closed detention centres in those areas to begin with? Wasn't it the Nationalist government that created all the social problems you now complain about in those areas? I did not agree with the decision to locate the open centre in Mar- sa at the time. What I saw wrong with it, is that it resulted in a con- centration only in one area. This was a mistake… It was a mistake that was pointed out at the time, by the media, NGOs, etc. Did you need hindsight to come to that conclusion? But excuse me: the present gov- ernment promised to close down the Marsa open centre. And it's Nationalist MEP hopeful FRANK PSAILA dismisses the view that his party is pandering to xenophobic sentiments in this campaign: arguing that the PN is not 'against foreigners', but against unplanned immigration of non-EU nationals The PN's 'man with a Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt