Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1300177
YESTERDAY'S announcement that the number of COVID cas- es have hit the 204 mark can no longer be blamed on the people. Every society needs to be con- fronted with rules and barriers. Ours has not. Now it is evident that the situation is out of hand. As I speak, the only measures that are in place are the masks. Nothing else, everything is busi- ness as usual. And this is a problem. The doctors and nurses are right in expressing concern that the enforcement measures are too weak. We need to see some serious action. If the cold weather sets in we will be facing innumerable cases, hundreds of people will be in self-isolation or quarantine, and the limited functionality we have as businesses will evapo- rate. There is no need for Charmaine Gauci to appear anymore on our screens. She says the same things and repeats the same mantra every single time she appears… but she has no real say in what happens, for the decisions being taken here are political. My question, and this is not to Gauci, but to the top brass who take the final political decisions: if in April 2019 we had imposed restrictions which had included a partial lockdown, limits on the mobility of elderly over a certain age, closure of retails outlets and gyms, apart from the closure of the airport, why are we being so laid back now with a far worse situation? It is simply not logical. This summer we all came to- gether and converged with a rant and endless diatribe against the opening of entertainment plac- es… and blamed the outlets for the surge of COVID-19 cases in summer. But those cases were chicken-feed compared to the numbers we have today. And surely the latest cases can- not be attributed to the excesses of youth in summer. Even the level of enforcement cannot be commended in any way. We are facing a pandem- ic crisis without precedent, one that could bring our health ser- vices to its knees and if that hap- pens, the proverbial shit has re- ally hit the fan. The actions that need to be tak- en now, cannot be half-baked. Last Friday's measures were half-baked. Across Europe, people meeting people are being controlled and in some cases stopped altogeth- er. Here we live in the false hope that things will get better, even with feeble attempts to control the behaviour of the public. But we need to take action, fast. In the last months, COVID-19 deprived us of our livelihoods, and more importantly of a nor- mal life, a stunted education for our kids and the horror of not being able to say goodbye to our loved ones as they died a slow death. Today thousands of elderly in private and state homes and in their private residences are be- ing deprived of the chance to meet their loved ones. The fact that the pandemic is out of hand makes it ever more difficult. Now is the time to act. Half-baked measures are not for COVID-19. Cabinet changes The co-option of Clyde Caru- ana and Miriam Dalli to Robert Abela's cabinet is indicative. It responds to a reality facing Rob- ert Abela, who is experiencing a serious deficit in managing the country. There is little doubt that Mus- cat's Cabinet then was driven by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, apart from two or three ministries such as those of Ian Borg and Chris Fearne. Abela now needs to respond to a growing need to have capable individuals who will tackle the growing pains in running the economy and take everything forward. But he has one major problem, that is, the evident management deficit with many of the current ministers and parliamentary sec- retaries. As I write Abela's mind must be in state of complete flux. He is wondering which of the min- isters and junior ministers needs to be axed – for political and ad- ministrative expediency. I could mention a few politicians who need to be axed, some of which have never been fit for purpose. The reshuffle in the Cabinet, as we will see it, will also con- firm that the date for the next election will not be in the next months. Robert Abela has always fa- voured a legislature that extends over the full five-year term. But in bringing in new blood and faces, he hopes to reinvigorate the Labour government and par- ty just as Nationalist leader Ber- nard Grech's election as leader will serve to regroup the PN and improve its electoral chances. Robert Abela can blame COV- ID-19 for a very difficult year, but COVID-19 provides Abela with a great political opportuni- ty to show how he can weather the storm in these conditions and to surround himself with the right people. Our economic revival in a post-COVID scenario is crucial for Abela and his political suc- cess. As in all things, a day in politics can change everything, more so when the goalposts are always changing. The other very important con- sideration for Abela is the effec- tive closure of the Daphne Caru- ana Galizia murder, or rather the arrest and arraignment of all the culprits in this horrendous crime. Abela cannot afford to go the polls with this murder over his head and still unsolved and with the perceived villains still on the run. He must demand a clear ex- planation of the state of po- lice investigations and to drive through the necessary criminal justice reforms that will bring to justice the perpetrators. Is he willing to be the prime minister to bring this matter to closure? He has to start right now, by giv- ing the police the right to tools to take action. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 OCTOBER 2020 OPINION Out of control, under control Saviour Balzan