Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503087
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JULY 2023 COMMENT The Skinny Malta, shrunk down EDITORIAL Bill 28: One man's moral code and another man's lack of spine PAGE 2 JOSANNE CASSAR Understanding the Love Island Malta phenomenon PAGE 5 These last few years saw significant progress on different SDG areas. Overall, the data shows that Malta was ahead of EU averages in its performance on several SDGs Alex Agius Saliba PAGE 12 What are we skinning? Prime Minister Robert Abela's decision to inaugurate the new premises of Charles 'Caqnu' Polidano's group in Hal Farrug, despite Pol- idano Ltd. still being in arrears amounting to millions in unpaid tax, and in the same week in which he held a frosty meeting with environmental NGOs where he refused to budge on any of their complaints. Why are we skinning it? Be- cause it serves as a delicious microcosm of everything that's wrong in the country, wrapped up in a single week of routine appearances by our PM. But come on, you can't expect the prime minister NOT to inau- gurate a Caqnu project... Why not? I mean it's... it's Caqnu! It would be like refusing to at- tend the Gieh ir-Repubblika ceremony at this point. The folksy, and now quasi-nostal- gic, adoration of an inculcated business class which Charles Polidano so archetypally repre- sents is, I would argue, a core part of the problem here. How so? We not only shirk away from actively criticising such figures due to the economic power they wield. We've also endowed them with an aura of inevitability... if not cultural/ biological/geological primacy. Caqnu was, Caqnu is, and Caqnu will always be... and without him we shall crumble. A bit like Queen Elizabeth II was for the England, then? Yes, though I shudder to think what Caqnu's predecessor would look like.. You don't have to cast your gaze TOO far along the hori- zon. And that's the scary part. Caqnu clones are many, nay, multiple... and they're ready to pounce. But the company HAS dealt with SOME of their tax issues. Don't you think the prime minister has a point? On what, exactly? When he said he wanted to send an example to other com- panies, that if they get their affairs in order, they will be re- warded. But there you have it: it's Caqnu who got the privilege of being 'the example' on which amnesty is bestowed. Would smaller companies -- with smaller infractions, by proxy and proportion -- be accorded the same mercy. I don't think so. Again, though, you said it your- self: Caqnu is an archetype. Yes, an archetype of the successful Maltese macho businessman; a 'self-made' man -- emphasis on man -- who forges his own path to greatness irrespective of the ethical collateral damage he may cause along the way. So this is what Abela is defend- ing, in truth. Yes. As a continu- ity candidate who leans heavily on the status quo, Abela feels that rocking the Caqnu ship will cause him no small amount of discomfort. But shouldn't leadership be laden with discomfort. I would think so, yes. Doesn't seem like Abela thrives in that environ- ment, though. He did experience some dis- comfort during his meeting with environmental NGOs, though. Yes, though by all ac- counts he was simply endur- ing their complaints so that he could confirm his allegiance to the Caqnus of this world. A Malta run by developers, in- deed. Just let us vote for Caqnus come next election, and cut out the political middle men who only serve to prop them up. Do say: "One could take a bru- tally pragmatic view of the situ- ation and conclude that a busi- ness mogul like Caqnu is simply 'too big to [properly] sanction. But that would be giving in to precisely the kind of vulgar cyn- icism that has ruined the coun- try's ethical standing, environ- mental credentials and quality of life." Don't say: "I paid an overdue parking ticket last week. Will the PM cut a ribbon for me too?" No. 198 - Celebrating Caqnu RAPHAEL VASSALLO Video games, to blame for French riots? That's like saying: 'Qu'ils mangent de brioche! PAGES 10 - 11 MICHAEL FALZON Historic U-turn PAGE 7