Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1457526
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 MARCH 2022 OPINION 5 THE whole country – or at least those following politics – might be expected to act as willing au- diences to the promises of both parties and the dishing-out of countless fiscal incentives. But it seems both Labour and Na- tionalist Party leaders are failing miserably in appreciating the long-term effects of post-pan- demic inflation, and now, a war that Vladimir Putin is claiming to be a 'special military opera- tion'. Most people are literally switched off from what is an uneventful and boring election campaign whose victor is taken for granted, and has not creat- ed anything remotely exciting. People are more tuned in to the Ukrainian crisis and the tragedy unfolding before our every eyes. Most cannot understand why Nato will not intervene, a de- cision that would carry its own disastrous conequencies by pushing an entire military alli- ance into war with Russia. Nor can many understand why Pu- tin's aggression had been down- played early on and that his mili- tary invasion, though surprising, was always an option. Now we are left with a volley of sanctions that are to bring Rus- sia to its knees. The implausible scenario would mean that the sanctions bite down so hard on Putin's rich allies and the people, that he is either toppled or killed. But foreign policy and such sce- narios cannot be conjured up like they were some Hollywood script. Putin's domestic attri- tion and his continued military aggression in Ukraine is putting the world on notice. Back to Malta, the decision by political parties to compete be- tween themselves on how much they can give out to their elector- ate in incentives, be they tax cuts or subsidies, does not seem to be backed by any economic ration- ale. Of course there is economic growth that comes with leaving more disposable income in peo- ple's hands, but the idea that the more you promise the better the chance in winning the electorate over, has its limits surely. All this ignores the economic reality of the next months, with a hedged agreement for our fuel supplies coming to an end, gas prices on the increase in Europe, the expected hike in the price of cereals, foodstuffs, increased logistical costs and countless other inflationary effects that will bite down on our purchas- ing power. War is going to exac- erbate all this. Putin's cruel military tactics will bring his adversaries to their knees. But his fascist actions were also catalysed by Western indolence and a refusal to ap- preciate the Russian bear's ge- opolitical ambitions and tsarist aspirations. In 2020, thousands of Rus- sian troops moved towards the Ukrainian border. Putin said then that they will not go home until he had "concrete agree- ments prohibiting any further eastward expansion of Nato." In the last two decades Nato has not sent clear messages that it would not move eastwards, even though some of the mem- bers of the alliance did not agree with the expansion and indeed there were those who argued that Nato should be nowhere near Ukraine. But Nato has a foundational principle stating that any Euro- pean country can join the alli- ance, and to Russia, joining Nato is a threat. Now Nato's Article 5 includes a commitment that an attack on any country is treated as an attack on the entire alli- ance — meaning any Russian military engagement with a hy- pothetical Nato-member, such as Ukraine, would theoretically bring Moscow into conflict with the 30 Nato members. So the possibility of Ukraine and Georgia joining Nato natu- rally has angered Putin. Steven Pifer, who was am- bassador from 1998 to 2000 to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton said when President George W. Bush expressed sup- port for the idea in 2008, that that was a real mistake. "It drove the Russians nuts. It created ex- pectations in Ukraine and Geor- gia, which then were never met. And so that just made that whole issue of enlargement a compli- cated one." In short, Ukraine's intention to become a member of Nato was Putin's excuse to invade. Here he is, a man who has bombed to kingdom come breakaway re- gions, poisoned political adver- saries, waged an IT war in the US elections, and funded dictators. Expanding Nato membership served as a pretext for Putin, and America knew from the very first day that they could not in- tervene, since this would trigger off direct conflict with Russia. The eventual destruction of Ukraine will happen and not one soldier from Nato will be in- volved in direct military engage- ment. Hundreds of Ukranians will lose their life, children dis- placed, millions without a home, their country will be destroyed, a nation will be destroyed and the economy of Europe in some fear. With all the know-how, the political analysts knew that Pu- tin's madness and dislike of Nato would have led to this. Yet they continued to enter- tain Ukraine's dreams for Nato membership, but never tell- ing the Ukrainians that unless a member a Russian invasion would not find the Americans and Europe on their side. Not even a no-fly zone can be imposed, as the US implement- ed in ex-Yugoslavia, for even this would lead to a direct confronta- tion with Russia. We are watching a tragedy un- fold, one that could have been avoided if the West had decided to stop mincing words and aban- don Nato expansionism. Now nothing will stop Putin, it seems. MaltaToday Survey One aspect of the general elec- toral campaign has been Polar's polls for MaltaToday. This is a first for a newspaper to commis- sion roll-on polling of people's preferences. A Labour victory is inevitable but the two questions that need to be asked is by how much will they win, and whether the PN will increase its share of the vote. What is increasingly evident in all polls is a much lower voter turnout. That usually leaves a dent on the incumbent Labour party. And still, the numbers are still very high for Labour, albeit with a small reduced majority. To get the latest polls click every day at 8:30am to see the latest data on maltatoday.com. mt Electioneering while war is going on? Yawn... Saviour Balzan Vladimir Putin