Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/768342
13 2017: Looking forward maltatoday, SATURDAY, 31 DECEMBER 2016 7. ELECTION FEVER TO HIT MALTA With the Labour government expected to milk the ex- posure and feel-good factor which will come with the EU Presidency, Joseph Muscat is expected to go into top gear in the second half of the year before calling an election in early 2018. With the country effectively in permanent election mode, expect the tones and the discourse to reach pitch levels in the months preceding the election. Having a sizeable war chest, the Labour government will throw everything it has to winning a second successive election and possibly Muscat's last, preferably with a big majority. On the other hand, the PN will give it its best shot and expect to hear a lot about Panama, corruption, good gov- ernance, taxes, the minimum wage, economic growth, wealth distribution and more corruption. The next election could also see a record number of smaller parties contesting elections, with Alternattiva Demokratika expected to be joined by Marlene Farrugia's Democratic Party, the far-right Moviment Patrijotti Mal- tin and Ivan Grech Mintoff's Alleanza Bidla. 8. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN IRAN Iran's current President, Hassan Rouhani is standing for re-election and has vowed to stop Donald Trump from tearing up the deal signed with Obama and the West over its nuclear programme in 2015. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to raise the "bad" agreement with Donald Trump, who has indicated that he is ready to renegotiate the deal. Rouhani surprised the world back in 2013, winning the Iranian presidency in a landslide, defeating a slate of hard-line candidates favoured by the clerics. Although the Iranian economy continues to struggle, Iran's hard-line faction has yet to coalesce around a pop- ular alternative and Rouhani looks set for a second term. CONTINUED FORM PAGE 10 The left, especially in the industrial- ised countries, has yet to formulate a vision which offers solu- tions the growing anxieties and inequalities. But firstly the left must come to terms with how far to the right the political spectrum has shifted in the last 30 years, since neoliberal policies were adopted by governments on both the right and left. The shift to the right is made more evident when one consid- ers that the policies of the so-called radical left in Europe and the US, eg Syriza, Podemos and Bernie Sanders, are no different from mainstream post-WWII social democracy and Keynesian- ism. Yet, the mainstream parties, especially on the left, are strug- gling to come to terms with the anxieties and economic pres- sures caused by globalisation, technology, migration and ter- rorism. Following the 2007 recession, the world economy remains in recovery but overall it is getting better. However, many are rightly concerned about their future and angry at the growing inequalities. But, Trump and the far-right will not quell the anger for they are partly responsible for the economic and social ills in the West and other parts of the world. In the coming months, many Trump supporters, including working class and middle class voters who only four years ago voted for Barack Obama but who were left disillusioned will once again be disappointed at the lack of change. Or worse, the system they voted against will blame the most vulnerable in society – including migrants, ethnic minorities and the poor – for economic and political instability and as his- tory shows us, things can get nasty when this happens. Syriza leader and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras: the policies of the so-called radical left in Europe and the US, eg Syriza, Podemos and Bernie Sanders, are no different from mainstream post-WWII social democracy and Keynesianism. Martin Galea Degiovanni The news before Christmas announcing that Santa would most likely swim to you rather than be able to take off without a risk of getting bogged down in slush was a humorous headline to a rather sobering fact. Winter at the North Pole has so far been 36 degrees hotter than it should be and shows how in the long term, arctic ice melt is already affecting weather patterns where you live right now. One needs no crystal ball to see that 2017 will be another year in which climate will be high on the agenda whether we like it or not, in fact, whether or not it will feature highly on the political agendas. But of course it will be – with the uncertainty and various gloomy predictions on what Trump as incoming US president will mean to climate policy around the world. Apart from Trump's rhetoric of pulling out of the Paris climate agreement and his support for the fossil fuel industry, there seems to be little or no concrete proposal or changes in policy. In democratic nations, policies and actions take many years to develop and approve, hence it will prove to be rather difficult for the Trump administration to reverse existing policies. Civil society in the US, including Friends of the Earth US are already prepared to use the courts in order to tie-up any attempts the new administration makes to undo the gains made by the movement in the past decades while also using lawsuits to go on the offence. Trump can slow down some processes, but doing away with decades of policies and agreements is near to impossible. International agreements such as the Paris Agreement will of course continue. The US might take a back seat but will probably not be able to disengage completely. Other countries might take a stronger role but one also has to consider that the US dislikes the idea of being seen as the "bad guy" in an international setting. This is where civil society and politicians should unite as an international force in order to safeguard the gains made over the past years. Perhaps then, 2017 should be the year of hope – the year when hope and a positive momentum are most needed. Public awareness and discontentment have increased to levels which can no longer be taken for granted. From the success of the Standing Rock communities and the blocking of the Keystone XL pipeline in the US to the victory against fracking at Woodburn in Northern Ireland, people are making their voices heard against dirty energy and false solutions which are threatening their communities around the world. One thing is certain – this is no time to cry over spilt milk but a time for action in order to protect people and our planet against environmental injustices, destruction and greed. 2017 should be the year where more and more people start to understand the underlying causes of the environmental and social injustices which are afflicting the globe – a broken system run by corporate power and greed. Martin Galea Degiovanni is head of Friends of the Earth (Malta) In 2017 • Climate change Joseph Muscat is expected to call an election for early 2018 Hassan Rouhani