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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@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 • 1 OCTOBER 2023 Sant's telenovelas and the great dissonance Editorial IN a recent Facebook post, former prime minister Alfred Sant commented on what he feels is disso- nance between the favourable outlook rating agen- cies have of Malta and the general sense of disgrun- tlement in society. Sant acknowledged that governments do experi- ence bouts of widespread disgruntlement during the lifespan of an administration. But he also implied the disgruntlement was being made worse because of the "telenovelas" spun by the media. The dissonance is real but Sant's attempt to pin it on the media was a cheap shot that disregards the reality on the ground. To start with, the disconnect can partly be attrib- uted to the inadequacy of current economic tools to measure wellbeing. A strong economy - measured by GDP growth, the country's ability to keep public debt under con- trol, and unemployment at practically zero level - does not automatically translate into better living standards for ordinary people. Indeed, Sant himself has often questioned gov- ernment's economic rationale of importing cheap foreign labour despite the positive outlook of rating agencies. He knows this rationale enabled Malta's GDP to exceed that in most Eurozone countries, turn yearly deficits into surpluses (before the COVID pandemic struck), and bring down debt levels to below the 60% mark. However, Sant can also understand that these pos- itive macroeconomic indicators built on the ration- ale Sant has questioned have contributed to social unease and put immense pressure on the country's infrastructure – roads, waste collection, electricity distribution, hospitals, the environment. These pressures and their impact on ordinary people's lives are not measured by rating agencies, which explains part of the dissonance. Added to this, there is also the issue of expecta- tion. Over the past 10 years, a thriving economy and certain policy decisions taken by the government have left more money in people's pockets. However, the benefits derived from these meas- ures have now run their course and runaway infla- tion is eating away at earned income. The pressure is not only being felt by low income earners but also the middle class. The middle class is tangibly seeing its income being eroded and the only way to make up for the shortfall is to work more – either overtime or take up a part time job. Indeed, NSO figures released earlier this year showed a growing number of people in full-time jobs also holding a part-time job. The middle class's struggle to maintain its living standard is creating pressure on individuals and fami- lies that inevitably translates into disgruntlement. Added to this is the growing feeling that govern- ment ministers have become more arrogant or de- tached from people's concerns and aspirations. The Prime Minister's refusal to hold a public inquiry into the Jean Paul Sofia death – he only capitulated when the country, including Labour voters, erupted into anger following footage from parliament of two hurt parents standing up to government MPs; the inept handling of power cuts during summer's heatwave as a result of creaking infrastructure overburdened by the rapid population growth; the waste crisis and government's lack of understanding of people's con- cerns; these are only a few examples of issues that affect people in a negative way but are not measured by rating agencies. Sant is correct to remark on the dissonance but falls short when he tries to pin the extent of the disgruntlement on the media. There are a lot of other things happening that contribute to the vibe of negativity and rather than point its finger elsewhere, the government and its supporters have to look within themselves. Only this week, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana made it a point to stress the importance of discipline in public spending. From a macroeconomic perspec- tive, he is right to sound the warning and from the outside it sounded like a veiled message aimed at his colleagues in Cabinet. But to be credible such a warning has to be ac- companied by concrete action to curb unnecessary discretionary spending. People are understandably perplexed when they hear Caruana speak these words and at the same time the Malta Film Commission acts as if money is not a problem and refrains from publishing the re- port that supposedly proves the efficacy of the cash rebate scheme. People are also confused when despite Caruana's warning, decisions are taken by ministers to employ people of trust on jobs that could easily be done by the civil service. People are right to ask what happened to public funds poured into a government flagship project – the hospitals deal – that failed to deliver what it promised and was eventually scrapped by the courts over fraudulent behaviour. These issues are not 'telenovelas' spun by the media. They are real events that also cause disgrun- tlement, especially when people start to feel their quality of life being eroded. Rating agencies provide important information that business leaders find useful when making deci- sions on where to invest. It would be a mistake for the government to ignore the agencies' findings and assessments but it would be a bigger faux pas if pub- lic sentiment is ignored. In his foreword to the pre-budget document 2024 Clyde Caruana says: "Our economy does not simply stop at numbers… it is only when all levels of society are faring well that we can move forward." Not all levels of society are faring well despite the positive macroeconomic figures. The dissonance is real and requires immediate attention. 30 September 2013 Everyone must go, says Paul Borg Olivier IN two months time, Paul Borg Olivier will no longer occupy the third-floor office at the PN head- quarters in Pietà, and the party will have a new leader, deputy leader and secretary-general. The outgoing PN secretary-general, who to- gether with current PN leader Lawrence Gonzi carried the weight of March's election defeat by not re-contesting his post, explains that the result cannot be attributed to one factor. However, beyond the several factors which led to the defeat, Borg Olivier believes that the party administration needs to undergo a clean sweep and all persons currently occupying posts in the party's higher echelons should make way for new faces. "Let alone that the PN administration went through a complete overhaul in 2008 when the party was in government, it should now, after suffering such a defeat," Borg Olivier says. Looking ahead, he dispels the perception that Labour has already bagged the 2018 election, given the landslide victory in March, pointing out that while it will be hard for the PN to win, "When the pendulum swings one way it has to swing back in the other direction with the same force." He adds that the PN must regroup and become a forceful opposition. "The first thing the party should do is look at the electoral result, but we must also look forward and be a strong opposition. We should make sure that, despite the nine-seat majority the government has, it must not be al- lowed to have a free ride." He says that he led the party into the 9 March election constrained by financial, technical and human resources limitations, yet Borg Olivier does not shy away from accepting his responsibility. "A secretary-general neither wins nor loses an election alone," Borg Olivier says. He attributes the landslide defeat to Labour having a common pur- pose and everyone in the party rallying around the cause of victory. On the other side, he says the PN being in government for a very long time made it very difficult to identify a common purpose. Lamenting the lack of a common purpose sim- ilar to the cause of EU membership in 2003, Borg Olivier says that one area in which he and the party could have improved was the creation of a common rallying cry. ... Quote of the Week "I have a moral and political obligation that the country's finances are spent wisely, even if it means I am viewed in a bad light… we need to be sober because uncontrolled spending will always punish those on the lower rungs and that is something I cannot live with." Finance Minister Clyde Caruana making the case for vigilance in public spending during the launch of the pre-budget document 2024 MaltaToday 10 years ago