Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1469874
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JUNE 2022 OPINION 5 DO not be fooled into think- ing that behind the normali- ty of certain news items that seem to lack substance, there are no other sinister stories that should be making us think twice about the society we're living in. It's not really a paradise, not even when you think that what made the news this week were the views of the animal welfare commissioner on dairy farm- ing, or Iosif Galea's arrest while on an Italy trip with former prime minister Joseph Muscat. Take Malta's serious human resource problem for starters. Our complete dependence on third country nationals as well as cheap labour, is the biggest indicator of the expanding economy that requires yet more foreign worker to keep it going. And that means, a good deal of Maltese are no longer coming forward for certain jobs done by foreign workers, in build- ing, housekeeping, catering or hospitality, or skilled vocations. The supply of foreign workers ensured salaries could be kept or more less level considering the resultant economic growth from a larger workforce (and consumer society). All the while, it remains nor- mal for foreign workers to reach Malta by an Italian ferry; but the minority of asylum seekers and sans papiers who hope that providence will lead the Mal- tese Armed forces to save them from imminent death, are now considered the extreme excep- tion. Saving migrants is not a political priority. In the meantime, the gov- ernment cushions fuel prices and eats away at the nation's savings, thanks to an electoral, multi-million pledge to prevent the war's impact on gas prices at home. Yet everyone knows this cushioning cannot last for- ever. Today Malta's lower-mid- dle class is finding it harder to make ends meet. The growth of the civil service and the gov- ernment wage bill only makes taxpayers think the State is fi- nancing mediocrity for its own political convenience. The pressure from high population growth on society, with result- ant infrastructural costs, pres- sure for land development, and effects on the environment and air quality issues from increased transport, is driving people mad. The urban footprint has grown massively, and with it, the shabbiness of our towns. The challenges of the future are many: the need to radically reform our educational system to reflect the future needs of a changing economy; elector- al reform and party financing; government's unfettered pow- ers and the lack of a strong op- position; and the complete un- willingness of a political class to instil compassion and morality in its electorate. Few are willing to stand up and confront the decisions being taken, or the ones that are not… especially when Labour's power goes un- met by the weakness of the PN. In the meantime, we are now facing a police force under se- rious pressure in the Iosif Galea EAW saga. There is egg on the face of the police, and the de- mands of Repubblika for heads to roll are not going to be ig- nored by the reading public. Malta's police are not exactly the most efficient of forces in the world, but I still think that with the likes of Angelo Gafà and Alexandra Mamo at the helm, the force is better off to- day than without them. Still, it seems incredible that someone like Iosif Galea, a gaming broker known to enjoy playing with fire and already in some bad books since the Dal- ligate scandal, could be treated with kid gloves. It seems these people are always orbiting around controversy and con- flict of interest. Now that he was arrested on holiday in Italy on his way to join a group that included former prime minister Joseph Muscat, only serves to raise more antennae. * * * Lightening the mood, earlier in the week the animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzi- na reminded her public that there was no need for humans to drink cow milk. Her post for World Milk Day, on the artifi- cial impregnation of cows, the separation of their calves, and their constant live as a milking cow, was greeted enthusiasti- cally by vegan activists. Farmers were having none of it. Perhaps Bezzina needs to learn the fine art of political rhetoric. Even in her position, she must always remember to never let the scientific facts hurt her po- sition – even because as it hap- pens, there are far more cow milk drinkers than those who buy plant-based alternatives. She should have started off with a little bit of praise for the high standards of dairy farmers. And then… she could have re- minded consumers of cow milk, that there are also plant-based alternatives given that there is no scientific basis for humans to necessarily consume cow milk. Sometimes, we all have to be politicians even in our small worlds. The wood from the trees Saviour Balzan It seems incredible that someone like Iosif Galea, a gaming broker known to enjoy playing with fire and already in some bad books since the Dalligate scandal, could be treated with kid gloves Iosif Galea