Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541360
AFTER being given an additional 50 days after the end of September to prepare a response to Malta Vision 2050, one expected something truly exceptional from the Nationalist Party. Yet, while replete with lovely photos, the PN's reaction about the document is truly vision- less. In the section devoted to the key strengths of Malta Vision 2050 one finds that "it sets ambi- tious, measurable targets". Then in the press re- lease issued by the PN to accompany its reaction it stated that "the vision for Malta's future need- ed to be more ambitious". The case becomes even more complicated be- cause on page 6 of its reaction, the PN argues that Malta Vision 2050's "economic and social targets are ambitious yet potentially unrealistic". There you have it, a new mystery of the trinity. For the PN, Malta Vision 2050 is ambitious, not ambitious enough and too ambitious. On page 4, the authors of the PN reaction state that "the strategy emphasises quality of life and sustainability, moving beyond GDP to focus on well-being, inclusion and environmental stew- ardship". In the press release for the reaction, instead we are told Malta Vision 2050 needed to "be based on striving for quality rather than quantity". Again, on page 4, we are told that Malta Vision 2050 "prioritises innovation and human capital through educational reform, skills development, and investment in future-oriented industries". On page 7, however, "goals are set without ad- dressing Malta's structural weaknesses in pro- ductivity, education outcomes and social mobil- ity". Instead of a symphony, the PN regaled us with a cacophony. On the one hand, the PN believes that "Envi- sion 2050 successfully integrates sectoral strate- gies under a unified national vision, aligning eco- nomic, social, environmental, and governance priorities". But the same PN states that "social and urban challenges ranging from overdevelop- ment to housing affordability, ageing, and com- munity integration are treated somewhat super- ficially, risking deeper inequality and erosion of liveability". And what about this gem? On page 6 we read that "Malta Vision 2050 carries some notable weaknesses which are deemed to be important to single out for attention and improvement". On page 9 of the same report, the PN's position is to "enshrine Vision 2050 in law". Therefore, what is deemed a few pages earlier to be some- thing with notable weaknesses, later is deemed so good as to merit being legislated. What about the PN's constructive proposals? Page 11 pontificates about the need to "ensure that big projects undergo transparent cost-ben- efit and environmental assessments." One won- ders why in 2025 this is not done. But wait, what about this clause in Subsidiary Legislation 549.46 titled Environmental Impact Assessment regula- tions: "Before any consent is given for a project likely to have significant effects on the environ- ment due to, inter alia, its nature, size, scale, posi- tion or location, such project shall be subject to a requirement for development consent as well as an assessment of its effects on the environment in line with these regulations." Page 15 of the PN document talks about the need to "introduce statutory Gozo Impact As- sessments for all major policies and permits". Pity that the pesky Chapter 600 of Malta's laws states as one of the duties of the Gozo Region- al Development Authority the need "to ensure that a regional impact assessment, as established in Schedule II, is carried out when government ministries intend presenting to Cabinet (i) a na- tional strategy; (ii) a national policy; (iii) a nation- al action plan; (iv) major new projects or servic- es; and (v) regulatory and legislative provisions, which affects or affect, as the case may be, Gozo". Again, on page 11, Jerome Caruana Cilia tells us that it is important to "launch a national debate on population and migration policy". He seems completely unaware that his colleagues Ivan Castillo and Darren Carabott just a few months ago took part in the consultation on the Malta Labour Migration Policy, and contrary to him managed to do so well within the consultation period. Another gem is that we are told we need to "promote integration strategies that protect Maltese language and culture". Just four days earlier, Employment Minister Byron Camilleri announced that foreign workers will need to pass a test about life in Malta before moving here; a test which includes basic phrases in Maltese. But the cherry on the cake is the last two words: 'September 2025'. The PN had the gall to date its document as if it had presented it in time for the end of the consultation period, even though it was presented in November. The mind boggles. 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 NOVEMBER 2025 OPINION Carmelo Abela PN's visionless vision Labour MP 'Don't dream, back at nine years Therefore, what is deemed a few pages earlier to be something with notable weaknesses, later is deemed so good as to merit being legislated Like a notetaker of lived history, former Principal the highest echelons of power. Melvic Zammit WALKING through Ta' Qali, Mario Cutajar's phone rings. "Isma', Mar… inti ser tkun il-PPS," Joseph Muscat says. No hello, just a blunt brief message. For a heartbeat, Cutajar hears PBS, a reflex from his brief pre-1987 newsroom days, un- til the clarification lands: "You'll be head of the civil service." He had just been offered the job of principal permanent secretary by the incoming prime minister. Cuta- jar replies that it never crossed his mind, nor had he ever dreamt of it. "Don't dream. Start getting ready and keep me informed," replies Muscat on the other side of the line. is exchange comes from Cuta- jar's autobiography, Noti (literal translation, Notes), and shows how the book was crafted. Cutajar re- jects the standard political mem- oir—early on he says not to expect a biography or the "I", but a series of events, not necessarily in chrono- logical order. For the sections covering his nine- plus years as head of the civil ser- vice and secretary to the Cabinet (2013–2022), he keeps the focus on how government works; the small rituals and the large responsibili- ties at the centre of Malta's public administration. e second part then broadens the frame, turning to other experiences across his life, his childhood, formative years, and episodes set in his hometown, Val- letta. In the first six months of his ten- ure after the 2013 election, Cuta- jar says, the vision was set and the path to achieve it was mapped out. By September 2013, he was already saying publicly that in his first five years he wanted government ser- vices to move beyond departments, come closer to people, and focus on the client without exception, sup- ported by an unprecedented invest- ment in technology. Under his lead- ership, attention shifted to a careful review of public service processes. is enabled changes that gave cli- ents a more efficient service that re- spected their needs. Services scat- tered across several departments were consolidated, and regional one-stop-shop centres were opened and expanded year after year, each offering around 800 government services under one roof. Planning, he argues, was the hinge. Simplifying processes was already at the top of his agenda as the public service's top dog, but the changes needed a plan. Yet the pub- lic service did not have a strong in- stinct for planning. In all frankness, he doubts whether Maltese society has a natural inclination toward planning at all, and states that we have not fully shaken off the coloni- al habit where the ruler decides, and people focus on their daily bread. e difference between a dream and a goal, he says, is a deadline. In 2014, two directives required min- istries and public entities to plan their human resources needs three years in advance, with operational Mario Cutajar with a delegation from the GWU attending that was discussing workers' rights legislation at the seated at a desk is the late Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici advisor and used his expertise to assist MPs in the The investiture ceremony of George Vella as president. Col Mark Mallia.