Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/981272
| SUNDAY • 13 MAY 2018 maltatoday 14 NEWS ANALYSIS Malta's growing foreign population LABOUR leader Joseph Mus- cat is certainly not oblivious to the threat migration poses to his own party's hold on voters, particularly working-class vot- ers. I recall a frank conversation with Muscat in 2009 in which I expressed my concerns on his belligerent talk on irregular migration. He rebutted by ar- guing that by being perceived as soft on migration, social democratic parties in Europe had opened the floodgates for the far right. He promised not to do the same mistake here in Malta. In Opposition, Muscat faced a very different reality. Before 2013 Malta was on the receiv- ing end of spectacular boat arrivals of African migrants. The number of foreign work- ers only started to pick up af- ter 2011 to reach new heights after 2014. Even in Opposition, Muscat always emphasised his distaste of "illegal" migration while largely ignoring foreign workers. Muscat's boldness today on migration may reflect a need to show a sense of leadership on an issue which troubles his constituency. Surveys show a change in concerns on the migration is- sue. While under Lawrence Gonzi respondents were most- ly concerned with irregular migration, now 10% consider "foreigners" as the main prob- lem and only 6% refer to "ille- gal" migration. One thing is sure, Muscat does not underscore the issue. He fears his own voters are more likely to consider foreign workers as a top concern. It's not surprising: these voters were politically brought up to fear a 'Sicilian invasion' during the EU membership referen- dum, while having supported Muscat himself when he ad- vocated pushbacks of boat mi- grants. Muscat's actions immediately after being elected prime min- ister in 2013 were meant to prove himself as a strongman with xenophobic voters. But then he also prepared himself to open up Maltese citizenship for sale and the labour market to more foreigners. Today his government is still giving preferential treatment to foreigners that bring wealth to the country, while asylum seekers are easily portrayed as a burden despite providing cheap and makeshift labour. Only a year ago, the Labour administration jailed nine Ma- lian nationals for three months in a round-up of overstaying migrants, when these men had been living in Malta for years but were never deported. Sure enough Muscat can now push a narrative which still appeals to his voters. Foreign workers can be represented as an economic resource that fuel consumption, pay taxes and even contribute to making our pension system sustain- able. And indeed Muscat's dis- course fits nicely with the 'best of times' narrative in which foreigners flock to share in our wealth and contribute to make us richer. This is why he dubs Malta an "oasis" in a desert. And with foreigners feeding the con- struction industry with a grow- ing demand for housing, he en- sures the bubble does not burst any time soon. A Dubai in the Mediterranean So it's not left-wing utopian- ism or a love of diversity that underlines Muscat's cosmo- politanism, but a very utilitar- ian approach that sees foreign workers fuelling accelerated growth. It's more of a Dubai where natives profit off both rich expats and underpaid workers, than a melting pot of cultures. Indeed this is why reform- ing citizenship laws to give full rights to people who have lived and worked here for years re- mains taboo. Still Muscat has to sell this vi- sion to his voters. It is inevita- ble that gated communities at the high end and ghettoes in working-class areas can erode social cohesion. This is why Muscat's government is the first one to take timid but sig- nificant steps in enacting in- tegration policies, an area left unaddressed by PN adminis- trations. Disorienting the Opposition Of course there is always a political reason for Muscat to engage the Nationalist Opposi- tion on this issue. Once again, he smells the opportunity of splitting PN voters, many of whom were politically brought up welcoming liberalisation, openness, and free markets. Not that the PN does not in- clude traditionalists with con- cerns about identity. But it also includes liberals who regard the presence of foreigners as an inevitable fact of life. Muscat's challenge is how to ensure the economy re- mains attractive to foreigners. His model risks making Malta more dependent on attracting foreign labour, and in turn on volatile industries like remote gaming and construction. The other challenge – made likelier by political instability in Italy and the likely formation of a populist government – is a re- turn of boat arrivals that bring with them the wretched of the earth. Will Muscat be ready to open the gates of the 'oasis' for them as well or will he differ- entiate again between different categories of migrants? The Maltese Macron? As long as he averts these two scenarios, Muscat can easily position himself as the Maltese Deciphering Muscat's 'cosmopolitanism' Joseph Muscat is bold in confronting Adrian Delia head-on on migration, even when surveys show the Maltese are concerned about the growing number of foreigners living alongside them. Why? JAMES DEBONO It's not left-wing utopianism or a love of diversity that underlines Muscat's cosmopolitanism, but a very utilitarian approach that sees foreign workers fuelling accelerated growth The other challenge – made likelier by political instability in Italy and the likely formation of a populist government – is a return of boat arrivals that bring with them the wretched of the earth Surveys show a change in concerns on migration: 10% consider "foreigners" as the main problem and only 6% refer to "illegal" migration