Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/993482
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 JUNE 2018 7 NEWS ANALYSIS Turning down poor migrants may be a hard sell for a country which sells passports to the global rich Moreover, Muscat is no longer the politician who advocated pushbacks in 2013. He cannot convincingly argue that Malta cannot sustain the influx of a immigrants rescued on the high seas when its economy has ab- sorbed 40,000 foreigners in the past three years. After all, turning down poor migrants may be a hard sell for a country which sells passports to the global rich. Sure enough, there is a marked difference between the logis- tics involved in disembarking asylum seekers rescued in the high seas and accepting foreign workers and property buyers who arrive here through legal channels. One notable differ- ence is the pressure on the army and reception centres where mi- grants have to be initially kept. Still in the battle of perceptions, it is harder for Muscat to project Malta as a poor victim pushed to the brink by Europe's insen- sitiveness to the migration issue. Muscat may balance growing concern on the influx of foreign- ers by standing his ground with Italy. This may boost his popu- larity ahead of next year's MEP elections, in which illegal migra- tion will likely feature as a main issue. It is no wonder that Opposition leader Adrian Delia was not just supportive of Malta's position but added "Malta should hold strong and firm". Delia was probably in synch with the popular mood when he avoided bickering with the PM during a sensitive moment. But his complete disregard for the humanitarian aspect of the standoff in his first tweet on the issue did not go down well with those in his party who are keener on humanitarian considerations. MEP Roberta Metsola empha- sised the fate of the 629 migrants left in limbo due to the "sad bat- tle" between Muscat and Salvini, which she depicted as "two pop- ulists." It was only when speaking in parliament after news that Spain had intervened to accept the 629 migrants that Delia referred to the importance of saving lives "within the observance of inter- national laws". Ultimately it was another Prime Minister, the newly-ap- pointed Spanish Prime Minis- ter Pedro Sanchez, who mus- tered the courage to take away the poisoned chalice away from Muscat. Sanchez may well have used this incident to leave a mark on the international stage, two weeks after he deposed Mariano Rajoy in a parliamentary vote of confidence. It also came at a cheap price for Sanchez whose main immigration worries come from Spain's north African en- claves in Mellila and Ceuta. The risk taken by Sanchez is that his action may well embold- en Salvini. Salvini was very quick in de- claring 'victory' after Spain inter- vened to take responsibility for the 629 migrants on board of the Aquarius. The risk for Salvini is that had Spain not intervened, he might well have ended up being held responsible for the deteriorating situation on the Aquarius. But it is doubtful whether Sal- vini cares about the repercus- sions as long as his popularity at home continues to grow. The question now is: will every rescue result in a standoff with Malta and the intervention of a third party like Spain to take away the heat? Probably some- thing will have to give. The al- ternative scenario is even more frightening: that of hundreds dying on the high seas as Europe looks the other way. Muscat: PM Gonzi's problem