Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/448091
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2015 Opinion 23 law to assist business start-ups. New businesses will now have the opportunity to claim a tax credit up to the same amount invested. The government is also developing legislation that will facilitate transfer of family businesses. A further reduction in income tax was also announced. Such a measure will lead to an increase in disposable income for middle to high earners. More spending power leads to more money pumped back into the economy. This government has kept another of its promises – that regarding energy bills. In fact, enterprises and businesses including SMEs and major industries will be benefitting from a substantial reduction of 25% in the water and electricity bills resulting in a further injection of €50m back into the economy. These are all tangible measures which address some of industry's concerns and expectations. These measures come into play just as the European Commission's Autumn Economic Forecast and Moody's reports have positively rated Malta and confirmed that the Maltese economy is set to grow further. Moody's rating agency on Malta is forecasting economic growth of around 2.8% for the coming year. Moreover, the agency claimed that this positive rating is given in light of Malta's economy having a 'healthy outlook'. Other credit rating agencies, such as Fitch and Standard and Poor's, also rated Malta's economy as strong and described it as being on the right track to reach economic targets. Malta is on target when it comes to its deficit while providing more money to the Maltese citizens. In fact we are planning a budget deficit target of 1.7% for 2015. These are all positive results and such achievements should make the whole country proud. This administration is committed to create an economic climate that encourages and helps businesses to invest in Malta. A combined effort by government authorities and departments, service providers and consultants is contributing to this new vision for a better and stronger national economy. In return, every Maltese citizen is bound to benefit from this success as such economic growth will provide a more stable economic scenario for all Maltese. Miriam Dalli is a Labour MEP fiasco, and now the final approval of a referendum for next April – which many hunters feel Joseph Muscat 'did not oppose strongly enough' (whether he could have done anything about it is a question that doesn't seem to have occurred to them) – Muscat is likewise finding out that meeting hunters' expectations is a whole lot easier before an election, than afterwards. Looking back on all this now, I can only conclude that I was wrong all those years ago to insist on political parties pronouncing themselves on things like hunting. Much better for all concerned – most of all, for the parties themselves – to just keep quiet about it. In fact, it is precisely because they took up positions in the first place that the situation has become so politically impossible that we were forced to resort to a referendum. And this puts a whole different perspective on things. Who cares what the two parties now say, anyway? The matter is going to be decided one way or another, regardless of their own opinions in the matter. Suddenly, it is no longer a case of hunting getting in the way of politics; but politicians interrupting a discussion that is getting along just fine without them. In a sense, this makes this referendum a great leveller in our current political landscape. It has already cut both party leaders down to size: reminding them that there are other means available to get things done, when the two parties have reached a mutually comfortable arrangement not to rock the boat too much. It has, in a word, short-circuited a system that had previously responded only to the control of governments. We can now see with our eyes that there are areas beyond which governments cannot reach. And there is an irony in this realisation, too. Part of the reason so many of us had voted Yes to EU accession in 2003 was precisely to reach a point of political maturity whereby local politics would no longer be the be all and end all of everything. There would be further recourse to action where local channels fail, or when local governance fails to meet community standards. This argument had particular relevance to the hunting issue. With a bit of dedicated lobbying, any special interest group can exert enough influence over a local government to eventually get its way. Just look at Armier. For reasons outlined above, it was always too easy for the hunters to have both parties singing the same tune from a little cage on their trophy shelf. But to twist the European Commission's arm the same way? That seemed unlikely before 2003. Hence the irony. It proved a whole lot easier than predicted to twist the Commission's arm. Its infringement procedures in 2008 did not stop spring hunting; and following a disputed ECJ verdict it seemed to lose interest altogether. Now, finally, this referendum brings the issue to a head, and forces a decision to be taken once and for all… and oh look: neither the European Union nor the local political establishment was in any way involved. Indeed, the latter was all along opposed to holding a referendum: both Muscat and Busuttil are on record stating that they disagreed. This last detail alone speaks volumes about the predicament both parties now find themselves in, as a result of their own reluctance to ever take decisive action before. Both seem to project visible discomfort with one of the most basic tools of democracy: arguing that the matter 'should not be decided by a referendum', but by an election… as though a simple choice of 'us' or 'them' is enough to instantly resolve all disputes. More to the point: both party leaders disagree with this referendum, even though the referendum has in itself been brought about precisely by their agreement over this one issue. Had both pro- and anti-views been represented in the electoral debates of the past 25 years, one side would already have prevailed by now. The election would indeed have settled the matter, and today's referendum would be pointless. As things stand, however, it serves an altogether more meaningful point than anything related to birds or guns. It also pinpoints the precise area at which Malta's two-party system breaks down altogether, and proves itself powerless at every level – powerless to fulfil its electoral promises, powerless to prevent an unwanted referendum, powerless to halt a haemorrhage of hunter's' votes, powerless to take any decision to satisfactorily settle the matter in over 25 years – while the real power is now being wielded by the electorate: i.e., precisely how the same system was all along supposed to work all along. It is not just the hunting issue that has flown beyond the reach of Maltese politics. With it has flown also the illusion of political power. Saviour Balzan will be back next week beyond the parties' reach