Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517228
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2024 7 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. Scan this QR code to see the full interview. The PN speaks a great deal about what the police com- missioner isn't doing. Don't you think that it's not a politician's role to dictate what the police must do? When you're in government I assume you won't order the police commissioner around. I understand where your question is coming from. I think it's important for the political arm to be distinct from the arm of enforcement. When you have someone occupying an important role which makes him responsible to act as is stated in law, and one does not act, the politician steps in. We're not saying that the politician should investigate or command the police commissioner, but the politician has a duty (in the case of government) to lead the country. If a government sees an institution which isn't doing its job because of its leadership or the decisions being taken, government should act. I'm not saying the politician should order the police commissioner, but if there are failings in an institution, gov- ernment should see what the problem is, and that's what we're saying. Two weeks ago, Kusi Dis- mark was deported after 13 years living in Malta. Sure- ly there are more people with similar circumstances who are living here. Do you think these people should be deported immediate- ly, or should one consider their integration into the community? You cannot draw a straight line on everything. We should work on a case- by-case basis. Earlier I mentioned the advantages of having a small country, I forgot to add the fact that we have control over who enters and leaves the country. However, we also have the advantage that we can look at people and consider their stories. We're not numbers. However, we must respect the law. In this case, the delay that there was be- fore the law was enforced resulted in a lack of justice. This person spent 13 years in Malta, he had a business. We read that the enforcement took place while he was cutting someone's hair. He lived here for 13 years. Did they real- ly have to humiliate him like that? At the same time, the law must be re- spected and yet this case led to a lack of justice. But I don't think that we should issue blanket statements and say, 'Let's treat these people differently than the others.' Every case should be given its due importance because these are peo- ple who apply for asylum, and I think that process should be a bit faster as well. I understand the limited resourc- es, but I think we should prioritise en- forcement and reduce delayed justice. I believe there should be more effort to consider the human aspect. Bernard Grech used Kusi as an example to prove that Malta's population is actually bigger than what the Census says. Don't you think this rhetoric can help the far-right in Malta? Let me start off by condemning the far- right. But I don't think that it would be fair if we don't consider the context, I think those words were taken a bit out of context. Bernard Grech mentioned Kusi's case when he was talking about a situation where there is a lack of justice in enforcing the law. We're in a situa- tion where the population exploded in a decade with no planning or studies regarding where we're going. As I said, I condemn the far-right, but I worry when we make certain decisions that will grow the population to grow the economy. If you grow the economy through numbers, there will be reper- cussions. We have infrastructure such as the hospital, our roads and prison which can't keep up. There are all these services that can't keep up with our growing population. We mentioned the police. There too, if the police force remains the same while the population grows, that is a danger that is present due to a lack of planning. That's our population's situation, and I think it's a good thing to see what plans there are with regards to our population and economy. You've been active in politics from a very young age. Unfortunately, today, young people and people in general want absolutely nothing to do with poli- tics. What do you think the problem is with the PN attracting young people? I don't think that this problem is a par- ty problem. The problem is that young people don't trust politicians and poli- tics in general. It's not just young peo- ple, all age groups are registering grow- ing distrust in politics. The crowd of people who abstained in the last elec- tion looks like it is grow- ing. All politicians must address this lack of politi- cal activism. I think there should be a change in how politicians communicate. Along the years, people have been used for their vote on the eve of elections, which leads to a lack of trust. When you have someone who promises meritoc- racy, transparency - I'm talking about the change in 2013 - leading people to think there will be a new Malta [and the opposite results]. We should move towards that Malta, but we've dangled the carrot in front of people before elections and this led to a lack of trust in politicians. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY