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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 MARCH 2021 'Who is government trying to fool? Editorial A Favourite Channel caller-in's justified rant, that went viral on social media this week, captures per- fectly the spirit of a society that is exasperated at mealy-mouthed politicians attempting to play down the shortcomings of Malta's COVID-19 strategy. "Who are you trying to fool?" the female caller, a self-declared Labour voter, told Labour MP Silvio Parnis. And she was right: at a time of such alarm- ing COVID infection rates, Prime Minister Robert Abela can hardly expect to be taken seriously when declaring 'battles won over COVID'; or predicting a 'return to normality', when statistics clearly point in the opposite direction. Nonetheless, there was a time when those claims were justified. Without a doubt, the government did reap the fruits of an effective health strategy during the first wave: which, in 2020, managed to not con- tain infection rates – reducing the caseload to zero by June – but also paved the way for an incremental lifting of measures ever since. Recent experience has even vindicated the gov- ernment's choice not to go for a total lockdown, as initially proposed by the Opposition. And the trust placed in Abela's administration, back then, was also reflected in political polls and surveys. Indeed, in a time of crisis people tend to look up to their leaders to offer them a sense of security: last April, Abela enjoyed a record trust rating of 62%. This year, however, he will surely be looking at far more depressed numbers. The reason is simple: the government is seen as having 'taken its eye off the ball', when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was evident, way back in January, that a soft lockdown was necessary to control the rise in infections from the post-Christ- mas festivities. Back then, the country was already aware of the risk of COVID variants seeping into the system. But it hadn't happened yet. In those early days, the country could afford a reasonable, soft lockdown that could control public gatherings; and also en- force a much-abused system that permitted people to freely congregate in bars. Likewise, there can be no real doubt that the recent explosion in COVID-19 cases is in part attributable to government's failure to take such precautions, against the advice of leading medical experts. Instead, triumphalism over the arrival of the COV- ID vaccine – indeed a feather in the cap of both Chris Fearne and Robert Abela – seemed to have fed the notion that we could go all-in, once the entire nation waited for its double-jabs. In reality, however, it appears that this misplaced confidence only allowed us to lower our guard. Rob- ert Abela's tone-deaf attitude towards the might of the coronavirus; his lack of sobriety, before an ad- versary whose lasting effects could outlive the time we reach herd immunity, have been noted time and again. In brief, it is useless to adopt the role of a bringer of good news, when what is really needed is a healthy dose of political realism. From this perspective, even the government's pre- dictable cant, about the Opposition 'politicising' the pandemic, rings hollow. Like it or not, this pandemic IS political. Much like the oft-quoted slogan "the per- sonal is political", the deaths from COVID-19, and the people's expectations that public health demands should trump politicians' vain hopes for a 'return to normality', are very much political considerations. No matter what kind of COVID-populist slogan is dreamt up by the Labour administration, there will be no 'Team Malta' high-fives if our country's leaders expect us to ignore the fact that, of the top 40 days in which Malta recorded its highest COVID infection rates, 37 took place in January and February 2021. The personal experiences of people who lost their loved ones to COVID; who were unable to be by their side at their moment of need; who can only imagine the loneliness of their sick relatives as they had no choice but to die alone; and the people who will be struggling with the effects of long COVID… all these factors are indeed part of the political management of this pandemic. The government cannot therefore expect us to only show gratitude towards its economic management, without also questioning its latest decisions on the pandemic. And yes: perhaps it does look like a thank- less job to a prime minister whose first 365 days in power have tested him in truly unprecedented ways. But the public has also grown restless at the con- tradictions of a public health strategy that refuses to invoke emergency powers, even at a point when daily cases are averaging at over 200. And it is not just random TV callers-in who are now asking: 'Who are you trying to fool'? 13 March 2011 Air Malta pays millions to MIA for 'heftiest passenger tariffs' A discarded restructuring plan did not consider 'unjustified' millions Air Malta still pays to Mal- ta International Airport and private operators. Air Malta has been paying Malta International Airport €21 on each passenger it brings to the islands, but no mention is made of the millions Air Malta has been paying in the restructuring programme that has now been taken back to the drawing board. The criticism being levied at Finance Minister Tonio Fenech by airline employees and industry observers is that the government has ignored "disadvantageous conditions" Air Malta suffers at the hands of MIA – owned by Vienna Interna- tional Airport, the Canadian engineering group SNC-Lavalin, and the Bianchi Group. "Fenech is scared to take on MIA," one of a group of middle-management officials told MaltaToday this week, after a restructuring programme for Air Malta drawn up by Ernst & Young was found to have incorrect headline fig- ures and is now being redrawn. The same report contains comments by the Ernst & Young consultants on the exaggeratedly high tariffs MIA has imposed on Air Malta, at €21 per passenger the highest rate amongst European airports. "In spite of the high costs, Fenech and Air Mal- ta chairman Sonny Portelli have steered clear of engaging MIA," one source told MaltaToday. The charges are set by the airport charges reg- ulatory board, which includes 3 members from the MIA board, a representative from the largest carrier and one representing the other carriers, and an officer from Transport Malta's civil avia- tion directorate. A former EasyJet official who had been ear- marked for the role of Air Malta chief executive, Cor Vrieswijk, also tendered his resignation this week after stepping in at the airline in December. Unions have indicated they will not allow any downsizing without serious contractual changes with Malta International Airport. One union has promised to ground the Air Malta fleet if the government runs roughshod with the restructur- ing. "The MIA and others have fleeced Air Malta and the government has decided to look the other way. They forget that they loaded the company with so many employees," another source in the airline said. Quote of the Week "We believe that in the present situation, it should be the direction of the Superintendent to direct and not only comment." Opposition leader Bernard Grech in an urgent parliamentary debate on the COVID-19 pandemic following record daily cases MaltaToday 10 years ago