Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1279544
COVID'S back, if it had ever left that is. Numbers today exceed those we had when schools were closed, many businesses forced to draw their shutters and vul- nerable people confined to their homes. Insecurity and confusion reign as uncertainty as to what the future will bring fills em- ployers, the elderly, parents and workers with dread, and the gov- ernment seems to playing it by ear or, worse still, by (own and buddies') pocket. Businesses ask themselves what winter will bring, employ- ees worry as to whether they will be able to keep their current salary or, worse still, employ- ment. Will children be able to go to schools? Will the company I work for allow me to work from home and help school my child? Will my child be falling behind on his/her studies? Will I be able to see my elderly parents before they die or will they be holed up in their residential home with visitors barred from entry indef- initely? Will I be able to pay for my employees' social security even if my business is suffering and liquidity ever so low? Will I be forced to take out a loan I will not be able to repay? Many are the questions, the answers sadly puerile and delusional at best. The government therefore finds itself at a crossroads. On the one had it needs to pay for debt it has accumulated, it also has to pay its dues to individu- als and organisations that were promised bounty and an exemp- tion from laws and procedures applied to the common wo/man or the hawker at the corner or that small family business down the road or that farmer in the valley with encroaching build- ings and poor water supply. On the other hand, a country on ventilator-risk helps no one, most especially the tourism and entertainment sectors. As coun- try after country removes Malta from their safe list, irrespective of what the PL propaganda ma- chine would have us believe, and vouchers go unused or misused (any truth to the voucher racket business?) the government's lack of strategy and forward thinking is made evident. Conscientious individuals value health over pizza, their loved ones over a weekend break. Prudent busi- nesses value sustainability over growth and staff parties. So, the pinch of the reckless- ness with which the authorities declared that the only wave was over and none other are to be expected, that it is in control while ridiculing dissenters and attempting to silence medical experts and prizing statistics over common sense, is increas- ingly felt. Had said statistics pre- dicted this spike? If yes, did the authorities ignore it and forged ahead with a control-free, indis- criminate opening of the airport just in time for the virus to make its way to the unregulated and/ or poorly enforced mass events? If no, why are we even bothering with them and making decisions based on erroneous data? It is all right for the rich, the job- for-life or the demi-gods to say 'Ooops we could have done this better', but the fact is that their irresponsibility has dealt the vast majority of the vulnerable, busi- nesses and, if the trend proceeds, parents a heavy, painful blow. True the Muscat administra- tion left government feeling that it is untouchable and that their social media trolls will right all their wrongs. As they carefully assessed how many votes will be lost if say, ancient trees are up- rooted or pavements denied to persons with mobility issues to make way for restaurant tables, what statisticians failed to point out is that no amount of social media posts (wherever possible at the tax payers' expense), or wishful thinking commands na- ture. Nature honestly does not give a toss about megalo-busi- ness interests or party-politics. Nature abhors a vacuum, gov- ernment's attempts have failed. No, one cannot successfully fill the vacuum of values and prin- ciples in government with mas- culine jaws and deceit while handing out two-digit 'shut-up cheques' and bucketsful of lies spread and enforced by 'tagħ- na biss kollox jkun'; where the 'lkoll' will and must fall in line while swallowing collapsed buildings with fatalities, soaring rental prices leaving locals on the streets as billionaire money launderers get a cheap ticket to a European passport etc. Swallow it, or else. Nature knows no 'else', nature dictates the 'else'. The coordi- nated bullying of realists does not make a virus and all the grief it brings tens of thousands of Maltese and Gozitans go away. It just shows the authorities up for what they are, people who are used to playing god and actually believe they are better than Him. What was once Nationalist arro- gance has now become Labour disdain for all, viruses included, who do not fall on their knees in adoration, a haughtiness that leaves businesses in dread and citizens at risk. Where does PN feature in all this? Where is PN when a virus threatens our nation's health and livelihood and organised crime grows stronger and more daring by the day? PN is caught in an internal struggle, some say a civil war, others a mutiny. The fact is that any conflict in- evitably results in victims and dented trust. So how to behave when conflict arises? Firstly, one is to consider the consequences of unresolved conflict, escalated conflict and enduring conflict. Before starting a war, civil or otherwise, one should consider what the stakes are, what one is fighting for, what the fallout might be and what one can hope to achieve with victory. This should be done as a business would carry out its cost-benefit analysis, that is, include the pos- sibility of not going to war at all and pitch all outcomes against one another to select the best or least damaging path. Once this conflict, one way or another, ends, what can we expect? Do we expect both fac- tions to respect and support one another as though certain words had never been uttered or actions never made? Will the scars disappear? If Delia is ousted, can the new leader trust that history will not repeat it- self and what was done to oth- ers will not be done to him/her? Can the current rift or the Sep- tember elections be considered to be a quibble among siblings, which, once over, dissipates and brotherly-love return to being the order of the day? PN has to appreciate that its obligation is now towards a country on the brink of a fall, be it in terms of health, education, the economy or culture. PN can write history or fall from it. PN can help a country back to its feet or leave it be- neath the heels of those who would crush it for their personal, short-term gain. Now is the time for PN to show that rather than rape and pillage a country while leading the nation to ignorance, ill health and poverty (I here emphasise 'nation, as the select few' individuals have certainly done exceptionally well under the current administration) to the extent where finding innova- tive ways of hiding one's money, off-shore in dodgy countries lest taxes be paid and a little given back to the people, when in gov- ernment it will build the nation for the nation with the nation. If Abela can no longer sustain the falsities while juggling all the puppets and paying his govern- ment's dues to those who were promised much; if Abela uses the PL strategy of calling a snap election to cover up and justi- fy its misdeeds, where will PN be? Can people look to PN with trust and hope? If a new leader is elected, can citizens believe that s/he is not a backstabbing, pow- er-seeking individual who knows no loyalty to party or country? Would we be able to feel secure in the knowledge that s/he will be given the opportunity to do his/her job without interference from a minority who will not rest till they have it their way (what way that is remains unclear to me as no valid arguments have been tabled so far)? As PN looks to the next gener- al election, PN has a lot of soul searching to do. PN must criti- cally reflect on the past couple of decades so as to learn and improve. PN must focus its en- ergies not on internal bickering and mudslinging; PN should now be focusing on the coun- try's plight at the hands of a vi- rus, not COVID-19, but that of arrogance, greed, short-sight- edness and illusions. PN must, with humility, prepare itself to serve and with the wisdom and far-sightedness that used to characterise it, define the way in which it shall serve our beautiful country so as to present it to the public for scrutiny. PN must not, and will not, hold secret agen- das, hidden deals and covert al- liances. PN must be what it was born to be, a party for the nation, our nation. After all, united we stand, with honour we stand tall, and in adversity we stand to be counted. Edwin Vassallo 13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 AUGUST 2020 OPINION Edwin Vassallo is the PN opposition's spokesman for agriculture and small business On viruses, nationalists and general elections As country after country removes Malta from their safe list, irrespective of what the PL propaganda machine would have us believe, and vouchers go unused or misused, the government's lack of strateg y and forward thinking is made evident