Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1238298
8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 APRIL 2020 NEWS ANALYSIS Five reasons Abela has pushed migration button during COVID-19 ON Friday, Malta's prime min- ister Robert Abela went over- board in a reaction to a crimi- nal complaint filed by the NGO Repubblika, a civil society group that is politically antagonistic to Labour, over the government's failure to save a boat of mi- grants that drifted into the Mal- tese search and rescue area. The boat is believed to have been sabotaged by crew mem- bers of the AFM's P52 patrol boat, before being returned to Libya by a commercial vessel, with five dead and seven people lost at sea. After apparently ignoring re- quests to deny the incident, Re- pubblika filed a criminal com- plaint for homicide against the P52 crew, the AFM's command- er Jeffrey Curmi, and Abela. Abela reacted with a prime- time press conference on the national broadcasted, backed by his Cabinet, in a fiery speech in which he promised that nobody would stop the government from "doing what was needed in the national interest… Our love for the Maltese people and our country is too big for us to give up in this important moment." But why is the PM so keen on pushing this button at a time of national emergency? Nationalism: a rallying cry in a moment of crisis Nationalism remains the most potent and effective of rallying cries at a time when people are feeling anxious because of a pandemic which has brought about uncertainties. Unsurprisingly many an- swered the call to put up a Mal- tese flag on their rooftops or balconies on Sunday, as a col- lective response to the COV- ID-19 emergency. But in the context of what happened a few days before in the Mediterranean, it was easy to conflate this display of patri- otism with anti-immigrant sen- timents. Nationalism cannot thrive in the absence of an "enemy". While Abela steered clearly away from any xenophobic dec- laration, his actions have spo- ken louder than words. By failing to rescue migrants stranded inside Malta's SAR, he pushed a button which un- leased a wave of xenophobia in the country, which once again brought out the worms from the woodwork, legitimising their pet hatred: migrant rescue NGOs and asylum seekers. Ironically, instead of facing the backlash of the migrant deaths one would expect in a democ- racy that holds its leaders to account, Abela felt comforta- ble enough to go on the attack thanks to a convenient target, Repubblika, which is associated with the anti-Delia faction in the PN and is disliked by rank- and-file Labourites for its role in the protests that preceded the fall of the Muscat adminis- tration. Migration diverts attention from mounting economic and social problems Abela's honeymoon was inter- rupted by a health emergency which has enormous social and economic implications. For while the government can pride itself on its excellent han- dling of the medical emergency and for launching an unprece- dented but limited package of financial assistance to business- es and workers who lost their jobs, the economic slowdown and the pinch in living stand- ards, may well leave his govern- ment vulnerable. Labour's ability to wade from one political crisis to another, triggered by corruption scan- dals and the aftermath of the Caruana Galizia assassination, heavily depended on high levels of economic prosperity which left the majority immune. Moreover, in a rush for re- covery, the government will be facing contradictory pressures which may expose rifts be- tween the pro construction and pro-business wing of the La- bour party, and those who are more sensitive to good govern- ance, social justice and environ- mental issues. Even during the pandemic itself the increasingly vulner- able government felt a need to pander to the hunting lobby by opening the spring hunting season, despite the partial lock- down imposed on the rest of the country. By pandering to anxiety on migration, the government is tapping on an issue which not only reinvigorates the Labour base, but even helps Abela con- nect with segments of PN voters who perceive the same threat. The risk is obvious: Abela cannot suspend international obligations beyond the current crisis, without becoming an in- ternational pariah. The risk is that by closing the ports now, he may have legit- imised the call to keep them closed indefinitely. Moreover to achieve this short-term goal Abela and Evarist Bartolo have also cul- tivated a climate of mistrust against migrant rescue NGOs and an anti-EU rhetoric which misses the fact that EU policies reflect those of member states like Hungary and Poland, who like many Maltese xenophobes are keen on keeping the borders closed. In reality with other countries more likely to look the other way because of COVID-19, this may well be the ideal time to change the EU's migration pol- icies. One suspects that criticism of the EU at the moment is main- ly meant to address the local audience, as a way to shift the Why is Robert Abela so keen on milking the migration issue during a health crisis, JAMES DEBONO asks?