Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544773
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 MAY 2026 NEWS election campaign honest conver- sation creates a vacuum. It is one reason why public debate of- ten degenerates into resentment, as seen in the backlash follow- ing Abela's decision to field Omar Rababah. Without polit- ical clarity, economic anxieties are easily redirected into an- ti-foreigner sentiment. Traffic without behavioural change Traffic has received some at- tention, but proposals remain underwhelming. Labour's rail idea and the PN's pledge to kickstart a mass transport sys- tem lacks a crucial element: how to shift people away from private car use. Without behavioural change, large-scale infrastructure risks becoming financially unsus- tainable. Yet neither party is willing to discuss the trade-offs required—whether through re- strictions, pricing mechanisms, or urban redesign. The forgotten corruption issue This campaign has, at least, avoided the sterile tit-for-tat accusations of corruption that characterised past elections like 2017 which saw PN leader Simon Busuttil taking the role of a self-appointed national prosecutor, also because of the institution- al paralysis after Konrad Miz- zi's and Keith Schembri's P a n a m a a c c o u n t s were dis- covered. But the absence of major corrup- tion accusations rocking the Abela administration and in- creased reluctance of the PN to rely on a single issue, has not been matched by a strong re- form agenda which addresses Malta's very serious structural problems. With the exception of smaller parties like ADPD and Momen- tum, there is little emphasis on strengthening institutions, increasing transparency in the lands department, or empower- ing watchdog bodies. Planning, and the silence on reform On planning and the envi- ronment, consensus is limited to the need for more green spaces. S t r u c t u r a l reform re- mains off the table. Both ma- jor parties have been n o n - c o m - mittal on practical propos- als put forward by Gustizzja għal Artna, such as halting development during appeals, stopping the regulari- sation of illegal development in ODZ areas and strengthening planning enforcement. Abela has hinted at revising local plans, but without assur- ances that this will not be driv- en by the same interests behind past controversial reforms in- cluding the developers' wish- list presented to parliament last Summer. The PN is also wary of rocking the boat insisting on a long-lost balance between the environment and development. Taxation: the untouchable tool Taxation has become politi- cally untouchable. Neither par- ty is willing to use fiscal tools to incentivise behavioural change, whether in transport, energy use, or prop- erty specula- tion. Both ma- jor parties are keen on all gain, no pain formu- la for every- one. Even the €1,000 "super bonus" will be based on a flat rate irrespective of the level of in- come and will be paid to em- ployees, pensioners who work, the self-employed and students. This underlies the absence of a clear social justice agenda aimed not at just helping everyone but at addressing inequality. Here again, smaller players like Momentum have broken ranks, proposing measures such as a tax on vacant properties. Civil liberties on pause Finally, civil liberties—once a defining feature of Labour's political identity—have faded into the background. The transformative LG- BTIQ reforms of the past dec- ade have no e q u i v a l e n t in this cam- paign. Issues like abortion de- criminalisa- tion, women's rights, and the long-term inte- gration of foreign res- idents are largely absent from the political agenda. While the PN has indicated it will not roll back existing rights, appre- hension remains among activ- ists especially after Alex Borg backed calls on investigating women accessing abortion pills. Moreover, Labour is no longer pushing the boundaries. The problem is that when bounda- ries are not pushed, the risk of the pendulum slowly swinging back increases, especially if a change in government results in the appointment of more con- servative inclined people in key positions. Malta grants oil giant Chevron exploration study licence for offshore areas to the south INTERNATIONAL oil giant Chevron has been granted an exploration study licence by the Maltese Government for four offshore areas to the south of the islands. The agreement for Areas 1, 4, 5 and 7 was signed on 24 April between Chevron and the government. Chevron will conduct geological and geophysical desktop studies based on existing data. The agreement does not involve offshore drilling. "Chevron is pleased to begin this new exploration study activity in Malta, an exciting opportu- nity to add to our advantaged position in the Mediterrane- an region," Kevin McLachlan, vice president of exploration at Chevron said in a state- ment released by the com- pany on Tuesday. "We look forward to working with the Continental Shelf Depart- ment within the Government of Malta to evaluate the hy- drocarbon potential in these areas. Chevron brings exper- tise, resources, and the tech- nology required to develop and grow oil and gas projects worldwide," he added. Chevron already has a vast portfolio in the Mediterra- nean Sea, including two gas producing fields in the east- ern Mediterranean, four off- shore exploration blocks in Greece and the Aphrodite gas field currently in devel- opment offshore Cyprus. In Egypt, Chevron is the opera- tor of two exploration blocks and is in a non-operated joint venture in the Mediterranean Sea. The delineation of the continental shelf in the four areas to Malta's south is dis- puted by Libya, Tunisia and Italy. Back in the 1970s Malta had granted Texaco an explora- tion licence in Area 4 and drilling started in 1980. But Libya claimed the area as its own and even sent a warship to stop the Italian rig con- tracted by Texaco from drill- ing. The dispute was eventu- ally taken to the International Court of Justice. Eventually, in 1985, the ICJ delivered its judgment that shifted the demarcation line drawn by Malta upwards to take into account of the vast- ly larger Libyan coastline. Malta's continental shelf lim- it was thus reduced but the court only pronounced itself on a small section of the zone since there were competing claims from Italy and Tunisia to the southeast and south- west of Malta's continental shelf respectively. KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Malta has granted Chevron a licence to carry out desktop studies of available geological data for Areas 1, 4, 5 and 7 (Map: Continental Shelf Department)