Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1269236
YEARS of unbridled and un- checked self-promotion and end- less self-congratulatory pats on the back have made the Labour Party oblivious and blind to the very swathes of the electorate it always conveniently vowed to represent, the hard-working cit- izens. The bottomless means avail- able to the Labour Party for its marketing have certainly not provided a cushion to the those facing economic hardships, the ones caught in the poverty trap or those at risk of poverty. The Labour Party in government has become an unrivalled expert at manipulating facts and statis- tics to accommodate its favour- ite narrative, that of being Mal- ta's saviour. But let us take off the meta- phorical coloured glasses and show the humbug for what it really is… political propaganda paid for handsomely by our tax- es. Housing is a sensitive subject but not for this government. It loves to indulge in blatant his- torical revisionism by claiming that the PN has neglected the housing sector for 40 years. We are reminded at every oc- casion possible that thanks to this government, thousands of units of social housing projects are in the pipeline. And yet so far, in 7 years, this government has failed to build a single unit! What about the new structures that will be built – how adequate will they be? What about the lack of main- tenance of existing blocks of social housing? What about the tenants still waiting for a lift to be installed? It is indeed ironic that,after all, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have been of greater help to the vulnerable than this gov- ernment's measures by pushing down rents, providing tempo- rary respite, which is some- thing that the much vaunted Rent Law significantly failed to achieve. Even more stunning is the pro- liferation of charitable groups and individuals who have had to step in to provide food to those who simply cannot afford to pay for basic necessities and utilities. The increased need to distrib- ute thousands of meals or sub- stantial amounts of foodstuffs on a daily basis is shocking es- pecially when one considers that for the past seven years we were told that Malta was out- performing other, larger states in the EU and beyond. There is a concerted effort by the government harping on its 'success', giving figures only when they suit its agenda and narrative. Yet here we have a govern- ment basing its poverty-allevi- ating plans upon yesteryear's statistics, showing complete detachment from the current situation as experienced by the common citizen, especially the 98,000 who were already at risk of poverty by the end of last year and may even now be staring at their personal abyss. At this juncture one should start to ask as to why the gov- ernment doesn't actually set the ball rolling on a national discus- sion with all stakeholders about achieving wage levels that do not require government top- ups to assure a decent standard of living. This leads one to question whether, despite the funds that the government has spent to save jobs during the pandemic, the system will actually prove to be sufficiently resilient to sus- tain the withdrawal of the gov- ernment subsidies. Glossy and sassy advertise- ments promising a rapid and relatively painless exit from this crisis are an insufficient response to the social and eco- nomic divisions exacerbated by this pandemic. Does this government have a sustainable, long-term econom- ic and social strategy? It is after all the PN which is proposing a bipartisan task force to deliver a COVID-19 so- cial pact for economic recovery. I think it is time we all start to look at things more objectively and stop listening to the same spin played by Labour. 13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 JULY 2020 OPINION Ivan Bartolo Ivan Bartolo is a Member of Parliament for the Nationalist Party Enough of the spin