Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1466490
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MAY 2022 9 INTERVIEW now, than ever before Muscat who first said that Malta needed to 'grow its population'; and Robert Abela has continued that policy ever since… Yes, but… once again, it was a necessity. Let me be frank with you: I was Minister for Employ- ment, at the time. The reality is that we used to create 11,000 jobs a year; but we could only fill 4,000 of them locally. We had to get those extra 7,000 from overseas… sometimes, because the skills de- manded were not available here; but mostly, because the numbers were not available, either. And one thing that no party has ever addressed in Malta – and we need to address it: even if just to acknowledge its exist- ence, once and for all – is our 'demographic suicide'. I'm not being melodramatic, here: but our birth rate is the lowest in Europe. Our population is dwin- dling, fast… And this creates a situation that we cannot afford to ignore in- definitely. If we all agree on the need to improve the lot of the people, by continuing to main- tain the welfare state, and living standards in general… we need a strong economy. But you cannot have a strong economy, when at the same time you don't have enough workers in all the rele- vant sectors. So: are we going to do some- thing about this issue? Because if not… we're facing a demographic suicide. At the risk of an impertinent question: you have been quite openly critical of the Labour government, since retiring from politics. But why only now? Shouldn't you also have been critical, at a time when you were still part of the Labour government (and could there- fore actually do something about the problems you now complain about)? I don't agree with that interpre- tation at all, myself. In fact, I can even tell you that I had a strategy, at the time. It was a strategy for me to survive in politics, yes… but not, as some people have suggest- ed, just so that I could 'stay on' as minister, or anything like that. No, my strategy was that: if I feel that an institution needs chang- ing… why should I leave that insti- tution? Why shouldn't those who have actually caused the problem, be the ones to leave? So I put pres- sure, internally, for that to hap- pen, as much as possible. Because I believe that, for change to take place, there has to pressure from both the outside, and the inside. And I was doing my own bit, to change things. I didn't sim- ply 'go along with it', like a meek sheep… To be fair, others have also speculated that it was precisely your past disagreements with government policy, that result- ed in your failure to get elected this time. Do you agree with that assessment? [Shrugs] Honestly? I don't know. To tell you the truth, I haven't tried very deeply to understand why I wasn't elected. You move on, in life. And this is not a 'trag- edy', for me – very far from it, in fact. But what I can say for certain, is that one of the major causes was that I was in a ministry [Foreign Affairs] where I wasn't in touch with constituents. As Education Minister, it was very different. I was in touch with literally thou- sands of people, all the time: whether they were teachers, stu- dents, parents… and in a small society like ours, quite a few vot- ers feel the need for that kind of 'personal rapport'. I couldn't sustain that, when do- ing the work of Foreign Minister. And I have no regrets about it, ei- ther; because my job, at the time, was to do my very best to promote Malta's national interests. And that was a more of a priority, for me, than getting elected. On the subject of the electoral disadvantages of being Foreign Minister: there seems to be a tendency here to 'undervalue' that particular portfolio… [Nodding] Very much so; and not just among voters, either. Politicians tend to undervalue it, too… … and yet, for a country in Mal- ta's strategic position, it is ar- guably one of the most impor- tant Cabinet posts available… It's the most important, I would say. The smaller you are, as a State, the more importance you must give to foreign affairs. And as we only have 'soft power'… we have to invest a lot more into it, than other countries need to. Because, regardless of what some people out there might think: we, as Malta, have no other way of in- fluencing what is happening in the rest of the world. It is delusional to think otherwise; and we mustn't allow ourselves to have that kind of delusion. In reality, whatever influence we wield is through 'soft power' [the ability to persuade, through diplomatic means]. That is the only way we can both avail of the opportunities that arise from our international relations; but also, to mitigate all the 'pain' that may come our way. And to put it bluntly: Malta is one of the most exposed countries in the world. To buy anything; to sell anything… we rely exclusively on maintaining the best possible relations, with other countries. So that is why I think that For- eign Affairs is – or should be – so important. Today, it has become obvious to everybody, that 'For- eign Policy' is no longer just about security, or migration, or whether we're part of 'this or that bloc'. To- day, Foreign Policy is also about 'Energy Policy'; 'Food Policy'; 'Jobs Policy'… it's about anything, in fact, that has to do with meet- ing the people's most basic daily needs… Right now, however, those se- curity issues may have to take priority. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, do you feel that our policy of neutrality and non-alignment may have to be revised? No, not at all. Actually, I would argue that our neutrality policy is now more valid than ever be- fore. And again, for purely prac- tical reasons… that have nothing whatsoever to do with 'ideology', or 'dogma', or 'Faith'. Geographically, I can under- stand Finland and Sweden being very concerned with what is hap- pening so close to their own bor- ders. And in those countries: yes, public opinion has shifted away from neutrality. But that's only because of what Putin is doing in Ukraine; and for that reason, I think that the name 'Putin' should also become a by- word for 'the law of unintended consequences'. Because one of the things he has actually succeeded in doing, was to get the Finns and the Swedes to want to join NATO… which I'm fairly convinced was not his original intention: very much the opposite, in fact… When it comes to Malta, how- ever: we should certainly not rush unthinkingly into such de- cisions, just because 'everybody else is doing it'. Everybody else is basing their decisions on their own geo-political realities. We should be doing the same; but our geo-political realities are very dif- ferent… Are they really? Russia has, af- ter all, only just declared Malta 'an unfriendly country'… No, no, that has nothing to do with it at all! Let's not make the usual mistake of automatically assuming the worst-case scenar- io. That was only because of our participation the EU sanctions; it certainly doesn't mean that Russia has declared Malta to be an 'ene- my'… or anything as dramatic as that. But even if you do interpret it that way: joining NATO would still not be the answer. For one thing, we have nothing to actu- ally offer NATO, as members: the organisation is already very well-served, by its military bases in Sicily, and elsewhere. And be- sides: it would only make Malta even more vulnerable to that sort of threat to begin with… Quick last question: there are rumours going around that you have been ear-marked as Mal- ta's next President. Can you confirm/deny that? Have you been approached with any con- crete offers, so far? No, I completely dismiss such rumours. Certainly, I have not been 'approached'… and I don't expect to be approached, either. I am not after any 'apple' or 'plum'. And to tell you the truth: I'm quite busy, actually. Obviously, I keep myself busy reading and writing. But I'm also back to doing what I enjoy most: lecturing, both in Malta, and overseas. So overall, I've got quite a lot on my plate right now. I am definitely not after any oth- er additional position; especially not if it's in the hope that – by ac- cepting that position - I will start 'behaving'; and 'being more care- ful' about what I say or do… In a nutshell, I have no inten- tion whatsoever of 're-designing myself' to fit a post that might become available later on. So I wouldn't pay too much attention to those rumours, if I were you.