Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/981272
| SUNDAY • 13 MAY 2018 maltatoday 15 NEWS ANALYSIS R AISA GALEA REPORTED in between news reports of high-profile corruption, more ob- scene development proposals and heated debates on IVF and embryo freezing, the not-so-subtle xenopho- bia of PN leader Adrian Delia did not attract as much attention as it should have. The rhetoric of the PN's leader sig- nalled the troubling shift rightward, which calls for much more than a few derisive comments in his address. He spoke at a business breakfast or- ganised by the PN with the theme "The Maltese Worker – A Long Term Plan" – albeit with no workers in sight – warning of the threat posed by the "influx of foreign workers" to Malta's social fabric. Previously, his xenopho- bic colours shone in statements like "we will not let foreigners make money from the people's assets", when object- ing to Żonqor development and Vi- tals deal, and "by 2050, Europe will no longer be Christian". Scoffing at the Nationalist Party's leader is clearly not enough. Unless confronted with constructive criticism and socially beneficial poli- cies, Delia might well succeed at mak- ing the Nationalist Party 'great again' as he has already done with making it live up to its name. First and foremost, his rhetoric is an- ything but random. It is a tried and tested way to build on the existing social anxieties, including xenophobia, which were nourished by the policies of the current PL govern- ment. A feeling that 'the country no longer belongs to them' is being shared by a growing number of Maltese. The country is becoming truly unrecognis- able, thanks to the efforts of the con- struction lobby which craves knocking down every Maltese architectural jew- el to clear a spot for yet another face- less apartment block, and eyes every ODZ field as a potential host of yet another petrol station. Malta's intan- gible heritage such as firework displays (which put the country on the world map) has also been passing through tough times due to the encroachment of over-building. I fail to see the for- eign workers' fault in all of the above though. If the loss of heritage concerns Delia so much, it would have been more fitting to put the blame on the developers (who were Maltese, last time I checked). When it comes to lamenting the tear- ing social fabric, Delia exploits another existing anxiety: that of a disintegrat- ing community. Community ties take time to develop and little time to break. The unregulat- ed property market and the construc- tion assault on open spaces, vital for community life, pushed many Maltese natives out of their home localities in search for affordable housing. Neither does the hectic contemporary lifestyle favour mutual support and solidarity, since it encourages us to see others as competitors, rather than community fellows. Also, there is no denial that the un- fair playing-field which prioritises the interests of employers over employees, allows the former to exploit migrant labour and exacerbate competition be- tween the local and foreign workers. And finally, the Nationalist Party's leader hopes to score points on the ex- isting fears of 'foreigners' among the Maltese population. As established by MaltaToday in an earlier survey, mat- ters pertaining to 'foreigners' are the second major concern to the Maltese after traffic. These concerns are regularly fos- tered by the Maltese media and poli- ticians. Besides, foreign nationals are portrayed in a troubling manner by no other than Joseph Muscat himself, who regards people like myself as mere numbers to profit from. The PM's tol- erance advocacy leaves no role for for- eign workers apart from mandatory servants to Malta's economic growth. This narrative alone is already enough to strip non-Maltese residents from their humanity. It's worth nothing that, despite the patriotic rhetoric, Adrian Delia is not as faithful to the cause of the Maltese workers as he poses. When Betsson Group, a Swedish company, dismissed 130 employees in January, Delia's solidarity was firmly with the gaming sector, not the local teachers, pilots, social workers, and doctors who were on strike at the time. In a tweet, he also promised that his party "will be catalyst in creating new economic sectors." One can only wonder how attacking foreign residents will transform into achieving his grand economic vision. The PN leader's understanding of the Maltese national identity is equally contradictory. To be Maltese, in Delia's view, is to be Latin, Catholic and "spontaneous". This one-dimensional stereotype does not do justice to the Maltese society which is way more diverse than a tour- ist's perception of it. This is the irony: a 'true patriot' of Malta sounds no dif- ferent than a much-maligned foreign- er whose source of information about Malta comes from tourist booklets. From the experience of nine years in Malta, I've learnt that recognising and navigating through diversity of the place is what turns a foreign resi- dent into a local. During the first cou- ple of years here, my understanding of the Maltese people was similar to that of Delia. At an early stage of integra- tion, I thought of the Maltese as loud, over-religious and chaotic. It took a few more years to move away from this stereotype, after having met Mal- tese who were neither loud nor cha- otic, Maltese who did not fancy festa, Maltese who loathed pastizzi, yet were Maltese anyway. By describing the Maltese in such simplistic terms, Delia shows a lack of respect for a society way more diverse than he imagines it to be. It seems that I, a threat to the Maltese identify, in nine years succeeded in learning more of Malta's many colours than has Delia in his forty-eight. Here are the questions to ask: what is Delia's proposal to make Malta a "nor- mal country"? How does he plan to improve the lot of the Maltese work- ers? Wouldn't it make more sense to call for the increase in the minimum wage? How about saving the little that remains of the Maltese countryside and its architectural beauty from de- velopers' insatiable appetite? Alas, in Delia's 'normal Malta', eve- rything will fall into place once eugen- ics will prevent foreign mothers from having children and foreign workers will be sent away. A lovely normality, isn't it? To prevent such a horrific 'normality' from materialising, it is not enough to simply criticise Delia. It's paramount to understand that the xenophobic, paleo-conservative can- cer draws its energy and inspiration from the consequences of the Labour Party's neoliberalism. Xenophobia and nationalism creep into people's worst insecurities of the future. They find a fertile ground in anxieties of a stressful and over-competitive lifestyle. Just as much as Brexit was an out- come of Blairite pro-business policies and Trump's victory was largely pre- defined by two decades of neoliberal- ism in the US, Adrian Delia's PN is an anticipated reaction to Joseph Mus- cat's Labour. And the PL is to blame for its possible future success. Raisa Galea is an editor of the blog Isles Of The Left Delia's PN is an anticipated reaction to Labour's neoliberalism Foreign nationals are portrayed in a troubling manner by Muscat himself, who regards people like myself as mere numbers to profit from Alas, in Delia's 'normal Malta', everything will fall into place once eugenics will prevent foreign mothers from having children... a lovely normality, isn't it? More Swedish baristas! At Bettson with CEO Ulrik Bengtsson: Muscat's challenge is how to ensure the economy remains 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 version of French President Em- manuel Macron or Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. His speech on Sunday firmly puts him on the side of openness in the new political spectrum, which pits politicians advocating walls that separate, against politicians who are open both for business and migrants. Muscat bills himself as a re- formist "not scared of change" and one who wants to overcome challenges by "building bridges" while his adversary "builds walls and closes doors". This is why he is so keen on confronting Delia on this issue where the latter risks being perceived as a milder version of Donald Trump or Marine Le Pen. It may well suit Muscat to depict the PN as retrograde and conservative and himself as an open-minded cosmopol- itan. That way he gives liberal voters alienated by corruption and Panamagate, a motivation to vote for him again (or just not to vote for Delia). And it comes with the added bonus of appealing to big and small businesses which profit from the foreign influx. In doing so he may be tak- ing his own voters for granted, those irritated by the problems that a rapidly growing popula- tion bring. Once again, that's a risk Muscat is willing to take. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt