Lejn politika ta' konverżazzjoni - Michael Briguglio

Il-fatt li l-oġġettività u l-imġiba edukata qed isiru dejjem aktar skarsi f'xi taqsimiet tal-kummentarju politiku jsewwidli qalbi. F'kuntest ta' post-verità, xi drabi l-fatti jintużaw biss biex xi kummentaturi jikkonfermaw il-pożizzjonijiet li kellhom qabel, f'logħba ta' rebbieħa u telliefa fejn id-djalogu razzjonali jsir diffiċli.

Din mhijiex xi ħaġa ġdida fil-kultura Maltija. Id-diviżjoni binarja tagħna fil-politika, fil-festi, fil-lingwa u f'aspetti oħrajn ilha tul ta' żmien sew. Sa ċertu punt, dan huwa tajjeb għax jagħtina l-motivazzjoni biex nitjiebu. Iżda dak li jinkwetani huwa li l-għodod tal-komunikazzjoni, bħal Facebook u t-taqsimiet tal-kummenti tal-gazzetti fuq l-internet, sikwit jitniġġsu minflok b'kummenti tossiċi.

Din it-tossiċità kultant tinstab ukoll f'artikli, blogs u diversi għamliet ta' intervent politiku. B' 'politiku' ma nixtieqx infisser biss aħmar jew blu. Qed nirreferi aktar għall-perspettiva ta' 'aħna' u

'huma', fejn 'aħna' dejjem għandna raġun u 'huma' dejjem żbaljati, anke jekk il-fatti juru mod ieħor. Nistgħu nsejħulha konfoffa dwar dinja ċatta fil-politika Maltija. Din it-tossiċità taqsam kuluri, konfini, gruppi, partiti u fazzjonijiet differenti.

Il-protagonisti ta' tossiċità bħal din jinkludu wkoll trolls: persuni li jista' jkun li jużaw l-identitajiet reali tagħhom jew identitajiet foloz (jew it-tnejn) u li spiss jaqgħu f'insulti, lingwaġġ degradanti u, xi drabi, anke gideb, kontra dawk li huma jqisu għedewwa. Komunikazzjoni bħal din twassal biss biex jifqar id-djalogu. Il-bilanċ jintrema, il-kompromess jitqies dgħufija, u jirbaħ l-għoti ta' tort lil ħaddieħor.

Din it-tip ta' mġiba hija għamla oħra ta' bullying. U jrid jingħad li l-bullying fuq l-internet jista' jkun daqstant ħażin daqs il-bullying li qed insiru dejjem aktar konxji dwaru, pereżempju fl-iskejjel u l-postijet tax-xogħol.

Nemmen li dawk fostna li aħna attivi fil-politika, il-ġurnaliżmu, in-negozju, it-tfassil tal-politika u l-attiviżmu għandna d-dmir li niskoraġġixxu mġiba bħal din u minflok nagħmlu l-almu tagħna għal djalogu produttiv. Madankollu, din ir-responsabbiltà għandha tkun tas-soċjetà kollha: kull wieħed minna idealment għandu jagħti kontribut għal sitwazzjoni fejn il-komunikazzjoni tagħna ma tkunx imniġġsa b'tgħajjir, gideb, fabrikazzjonijiet u fundamentaliżmu.

Biex nimxu lejn sitwazzjoni bħal din, nistgħu nieħdu ċerti passi. Hawn taħt insemmi xi wħud minnhom.

L-ewwel nett, għandna nagħrfu li hemm perspettivi differenti u li jista' jkun hemm konverżazzjoni bejniethom. Biex din il-konverżazzjoni tkun tista' sseħħ, hija essenzjali l-umiltà. Xi wħud minna jista' jkollhom aktar għarfien dwar ċerti suġġetti minn oħrajn. Pereżempju, dentist x'aktarx ikollu aktar għarfien dwar il-kawża ta' uġigħ fid-dras milli tista' tagħtina tfittxija ta' tliet minuti f'Google. Bl-istess mod, persuna li studjat l-ippjanar urban probabbilment taf aktar dwar l-għeruq tal-problemi tat-traffiku minn kummentatur b'burdata ħażina wara li jkun weħel fit-traffiku. U mħallef normalment jagħmel aktar riċerka msejsa fuq l-evidenza dwar każ milli jagħmel xi ħadd li jkun qed iwieġeb mistoqsija f'vox pop.

L-umiltà tfisser ukoll li lkoll nagħrfu li għandna ħafna x'nitgħallmu u li ħadd ma għandu t-tweġibiet tajbin għall-mistoqsijiet kollha: li tkun espert f'qasam ma jfissirx neċessarjament li tifhem f'oqsma oħrajn.

Huwa wkoll ferm importanti li nisimgħu attivament. Li nisimgħu jfisser li tassew nagħtu importanza lil fehmiet oħrajn u mhux li jkollna tweġiba lesta tgħid x'tgħid il-persuna l-oħra. Jew, saħansitra agħar, li nistmerru l-messaġġier mhux minħabba l-messaġġ tiegħu iżda għax jinzerta mhuwiex parti mill-grupp tagħna. Għaldaqstant, huwa kruċjali li nżommu moħħna miftuħ qabel naslu għal deċiżjoni.

L-istil tal-komunikazzjoni tagħna wkoll huwa importanti ħafna. Ma hemm xejn ħażin li ma naqblux u dan jista' jsir mingħajr ma nduru għat-tgħajjir jew għal kummenti dispreġjattivi. Nistgħaġeb li aħna tant konxji dwar il-korrettezza politika iżda mbagħad ma niddejqu xejn ninsulentaw lill-avversarji politiċi tagħna, pereżempju permezz ta' elitiżmu klassist jew, min-naħa l-oħra, l-anti-intellettwaliżmu. Forsi lkoll neħtieġu xi lezzjonijiet fil-komunikazzjoni u l-etika bażiċi.

Nistgħu wkoll nippruvaw inkunu kostruttivi, insibu punti li naqblu dwarhom u nagħrfu li xi problemi u kwistjonijiet huma kumplessi ħafna u jinvolvu bosta aspetti differenti. Xi kultant il-mistoqsijiet ma jkollhomx tweġibiet sempliċi.

Forsi kollha kemm aħna nistgħu nibdew l-istaġun politiku li jmiss billi nippruvaw inġibu ruħna b'mod edukat u nkunu raġonevoli. Ejjew nibnu pontijiet, mhux ħitan. U ejjew inqisu li ma nitimgħux lit-trolls.

Dan l-artiklu deher fil-Mument, 26 ta' Awwissu 2018

Cost of living and competitiveness - Michael Briguglio

Times of Malta, 20 August 2018

At this time of the year the Budget Office within the Ministry of Finance would be working on the upcoming national budget. If one momentarily puts the sale of passports on the side, one should acknowledge that it is no easy task to balance the books while accounting for government’s priorities and various social, economic and environmental needs.

During the process, the social partners within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development meet to discuss their expectations for the Budget in question. Again, there may be different legitimate requests which sometimes may not be easy to reconcile. Some social partners emphasise competitiveness, others emphasise their members’ purchasing power, and yet others refer to different sectoral needs.

I hope that in the upcoming Budget the government gives more importance to persons at risk of poverty or who are experiencing severe deprivation.  According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), the number of persons living in households with an income below the at-risk-of-poverty line (€8,698) as at 2016 was 72,143, or 16.8 per cent, 0.3 percentage points higher than that recorded for the previous year.

Besides, in 2017, the severe material deprivation rate among persons living in households was 3.3 per cent, a decrease of 1.1 per cent from the previous year. One should also refer to a recent European Commission study which stated that elderly pensions in Malta are not adequate.

Sure, the government did include some commendable reforms to help move people out of poverty. These include the tapering of benefits, welfare to work schemes, family-friendly measures such as childcare centres and other schemes.

But the fact remains that low-income earners and pensioners are experiencing too many burdens. This includes increased costs for rent, food stuffs, fuel, utility bills and other items, which are reflected in Malta’s relatively high inflation rate of around two per cent.

Last year’s Budget awarded a cost of living increase (COLA) to workers or €1.75. Any consumer would agree that this did not suffice to cater for the actual cost of living increases. The fact that the government itself awarded an extra supplement to workers was in itself an admission that the COLA increase was not realistic.

I endorse the claim by workers’ unions that it is about time to review the mechanism that calculates COLA. The mechanism has not changed in years and  consequently it seems to be out of touch with reality.

True, COLA was the result of a historic agreement between the government and respective employers’ and workers’ unions, and I agree that it is difficult to envisage an alternative mechanism that enjoys such a broad consensus. But this should not prohibit the government from looking into methods which can tweak the mechanism to make it more realistic while not hindering Malta’s competitiveness.

Other queries being made on Malta’s increase in prices should also be taken seriously by the government. For example, how much profits is the Enemed monopoly making? And how are they being used?

As regards Malta’s competitiveness, it is pertinent to look at a series of indicators and other evidence during the budget process. One such indicator is Malta’s trade deficit. The NSO recently quantified Malta’s as amounting to €242.6 million in May 2018, compared to a trade deficit of €441.2 million in the corresponding month of 2017. Both imports and exports decreased by €271.9 million and €73.3 million respectively.

Though Malta’s trade deficit has improved during the 12 months in question, the existence of such as deficit in itself is no news, and the demise of manufacturing helped result in a wider gap over the years. But does manufacturing have a future in Malta? Most likely it will keep experiencing major challenges, but it can also adopt strategies such as what my father Lino Briguglio refers to as ‘vertical specialisation’, whereby the Maltese firm would specialise in a particular stage of production which is knowledge-based and therefore generate a very high degree of value-added per person employed.

Such economic strategy requires effective investment in research, education, training, retraining and upskilling of workers. Given Malta’s relatively low performance in this regard, I augur that the government gives more importance to respective investment in the upcoming budget.

The social exclusion of children – Michael Briguglio

The current news cycle is focusing on some negative experiences faced by politicians’ children. As is the case with almost everything else in Maltese politics, the issue is being interpreted through an ‘us’ and ‘them’ approach. Only that this time around, the binary is not divided between reds and blues.

Being a politician dad myself, I sympathize with other politician parents who may have experienced such unfortunate practices. It is only fair and just that children should be treated for what they are rather than being socially excluded because of their background. I would never justify behaviour which excludes children because their parents happen to be in politics, just as I would never justify having children excluded because of their parents’ skin colour, beliefs or other sources of identity.

At the same time, we should verify whether it is beneficial to raise kids’ profiles to media superstar status. Here I am not just referring to politicians’ children, but also to kids who hit the headlines of top TV shows, pop festivals, and the like. And by verification I am referring to proper evidence-based social scientific analysis.

In the meantime, the form of social exclusion which made to the current Maltese news cycle is bullying, and the Commissioner for Children made it clear that this can never be justified. I know the Commissioner, Pauline Miceli, to be a level-headed decent person, and if anything, her statement only confirms the opinion I have about her.

We must also keep in mind that there are other forms of social exclusion which many children are experiencing. Unfortunately, the voices of such children are quite invisible from the public sphere.

These include children who require the services of Learning Support Assistants but for whom state resources seem to be lacking; children who are excluded from public activities because of their disability; children who are deprived from public spaces where they can play safely; children of cultural minorities who don’t seem to ‘fit in’ and children whose parents’ income prohibits them from enjoying the most basic forms of social inclusion.

We can also mention children who are on long waiting lists for certain public health services and babies who are prohibited from being breastfed due to a lack of friendly environment at the work place.

Finally, we can also refer to the view that treats children as incomplete human beings, as blank sheets of paper waiting to be filled in. True, children need to be educated about the rights, responsibilities, values, norms and skills required in society. But children are also creative, imaginative human beings whose voices should be heard. Commendable activities such as children’s parliament should be mainstreamed and children should be consulted more on what they would like to see at school, in public spaces and in society in general. 

This article appeared in Malta Today, 19 August 2018

Taħt il-ħarsa tat-turist – Michael Briguglio

Malta mhijiex l-uniku pajjiż fejn qed jiżdiedu t-turisti. Din iż-żieda qed isseħħ madwar id-dinja kollha. Matul l-2017, kien hemm 1.3 biljun wasla ta’ turisti madwar id-dinja, u 51 fil-mija għażlu pajjiżi Ewropej bħala d-destinazzjonijiet tagħhom. Kien hemm żidiet fit-turisti f’diversi pajjiżi, iżda dik fl-Iżlanda kienet l-aktar spettakolari. Din kellha żieda ta’ 230 fil-mija fit-turisti bejn l-2012 u l-2017.

Ejjew nagħtu ħarsa lejn xi wħud miċ-ċifri marbutin ma’ Malta pprovduti mill-Awtorità tat-Turiżmu. B’kollox 2.3 miljun turist żaru l-gżejjer Maltin fl-2017, żieda ta’ 16 fil-mija fuq l-2016 u kważi d-doppju tal-1.2 miljun turist li żaru Malta fl-2009. In-nefqa tat-turisti u l-iljieli li qattgħu f’pajjiżna żdiedu b’14 fil-mija u 10 fil-mija rispettivament meta mqabbla mal-2016, bl-akbar għadd ta’ turisti ġejjin mir-Renju Unit, l-Italja, il-Ġermanja u Franza rispettivament.

Tlieta u sebgħin fil-mija tat-turisti kienu qed iżuru lil Malta għall-ewwel darba, u kien hemm bilanċ bejn turisti li għażlu vjaġġi b’kollox inkluż u turisti li ppjanaw il-btala tagħhom waħidhom. Min-naħa l-oħra, 67 fil-mija tat-turisti qagħdu f’akkomodazzjoni kollettiva bħal lukandi, filwaqt li 33 fil-mija għażlu akkomodazzjoni privata.

Ir-raġunijiet ewlenin għaliex it-turisti għażlu lil Malta kienu x-xemx u l-kultura rispettivament, u l-biċċa l-kbira tat-turisti taw reazzjoni pożittiva dwar l-esperjenza tagħhom f’Malta. B’rabta ma’ dan, wieħed jista’ jżid li t-turiżmu jista’ jgħin ukoll biex jitrawmu attitudni miftuħa u sens ta’ kburija fis-soċjetajiet lokali.

Fl-2017, madwar 11,000 ħaddiem kienu impjegati direttament full-time fis-servizzi turistiċi u madwar 6,000 kienu jaħdmu fit-turiżmu fuq bażi part-time bħala x-xogħol ewlieni tagħhom. Ħafna oħrajn kienu impjegati indirettament bħal fl-amministrazzjoni pubblika u l-banek.

L-ekonomisti ma jaqblux dwar il-kontribut tat-turiżmu għall-ekonomija Maltija, iżda wieħed jista’ jgħid b’ċerta kunfidenza li dan il-kontribut huwa qrib it-12 fil-mija tal-prodott gross domestiku. Dan jista’ jitkejjel billi l-ewwel wieħed isir jaf kemm jonfqu t-turisti u mbagħad inaqqas il-prodotti u s-servizzi li jiġu importati minn barra, u dak li jifdal huwa l-kontribut għall-prodott gross domestiku.

Fl-2017 in-nefqa totali tat-turisti qabżet €1.9 biljun, li minnhom madwar 30 fil-mija ntefqu fuq importazzjonijiet ta’ prodotti u servizzi, u b’hekk tħallew madwar €1.3 biljun fl-ekonomija.

Madankollu, issa sirna nafu li ma nistgħux inkejlu l-impatt ta’ settur ekonomiku sempliċement billi nħarsu lejn iċ-ċifri finanzjarji. F’destinazzjonijiet turistiċi bħal Barċellona, Mallorca u Venezja l-opinjoni pubblika daret kontra l-ħarsa tat-turist li qed tibdel lokalitajiet f’parks ta’ divertiment, u dan sikwit iwassal għal problemi soċjali u ambjentali għar-residenti u prezzijiet ogħla għall-prodotti u s-servizzi. Forsi Malta għandha tniedi indikatur tal-ħobża biż-żejt biex ikejjel u jqabbel il-prezzijiet ta’ dan l-oġġett tal-ikel fi żminijiet u postijiet differenti.

F’Malta nafu li t-turiżmu hu settur ekonomiku ferm importanti, iżda min-naħa l-oħra r-residenti spiss ikollhom ibatu l-konsegwenzi ta’ problemi bħar-rimi ta’ skart ma’ kullimkien u l-iffullar. F’lokalitajiet bħal Tas-Sliema, il-Gżira, San Ġiljan, is-Swieqi u San Pawl il-Baħar ir-residenti sikwit jirrappurtaw għajjat, storbju tard bil-lejl u skart eċċessiv.

Il-mixi max-xatt u fuq il-bankini sar tassew diffiċli f’ċerti postijiet, u hu saħansitra aktar diffiċli għal persuni b’diżabilità, persuni anzjani u ġenituri bi tfal żgħar u pushchairs. Bosta drabi l-kunsilli lokali ma jkunux jistgħu jlaħħqu ma’ dawn il-problemi, u l-fatt li l-gvern ħa f’idejh għadd ta’ responsabbiltajiet li qabel kienu f’idejn il-kunsilli lokali ma jgħinx.

Il-fenomenu tal-linji tal-ajru bi prezzijiet baxxi għen biex jiżdied l-għadd ta’ turisti, u għamel is-safar aktar aċċessibbli għal miljuni ta’ nies madwar id-dinja. Iżda d-destinazzjonijiet turistiċi huma mgħammra għal żidiet bħal dawn? Xi bliet u pajjiżi qed jintroduċu miżuri biex jirregolaw it-turiżmu b’mod aktar sostenibbli.

Hawn Malta, il-mudelli ta’ ppjanar tagħna mhumiex olistiċi. L-irduppjar f’għaxar snin tal-għadd ta’ turisti ġie impost fuq infrastruttura li hi magħmula għal numri ħafna iżgħar. Hawnhekk mhux qed nirreferi biss għat-toroq u l-bankini iżda wkoll għat-trattament tad-dranaġġ, is-servizzi tal-isptar, it-trasport pubbliku u prodotti u servizzi pubbliċi essenzjali.

Barra minn hekk, il-mudell ekonomiku ta’ Malta bħalissa hu msejjes fuq iż-żieda fil-popolazzjoni li tirriżulta mill-importazzjoni tal-ħaddiema. Għal darb’oħra, huwa ċar li qed nagħtu aktar importanza lin-numri u lill-aċċellerazzjoni milli lill-kwalità u lill-kawtela.

Huwa veru li għandna nagħtu valur lill-prodott turistiku tagħna, iżda ejjew ma nħallux l-effetti negattivi tiegħu jirbħu lil dawk pożittivi.

Dan l-artiklu deher fil-Mument, 19 ta' Awissu 2018

Towards a politics of conversation - Michael Briguglio

Picture: The Conversation - Vanessa Bell (1916)

Times of Malta 13 August 2018

I find it particularly sad that objectivity and politeness is becoming scarcer among some sections of the commentariat. In a post-truth context, sometimes facts only serve to entrench some commentators in their positions, in a zero-sum game where rational dialogue becomes difficult.

This is not novel in Maltese culture. Our binary divide in politics, festa, language and other facets has been around for some time. To a certain extent, this is healthy because it gives one the motivation to improve. What worries me is that tools of communication, such as Facebook and online newspaper comment sections, are often polluted with toxic comments.

This toxicity sometimes extends to opinion articles, blogs and various forms of political intervention. By political I do not exclusively mean red or blue. I am referring more to a mindset of ‘us’ and ‘them’, where ‘we’ are always right and ‘they’ are always wrong, even if facts prove otherwise. A sort of flat-earth conspiracy in Maltese politics, if you may. This toxicity crosses colours, boundaries, groups, parties and factions.

The protagonists of such toxicity also include trolls: persons who may use their real or false identities (or both) and who often resort to insults, degrading language and, at times, even untruths against their perceived enemies. Such communication only impoverishes dialogue. The middle-ground is thrown out of the window, compromise is seen as weak and blaming becomes king.

This type of behaviour is another form of bullying. And it must be said that online bullying can be just as bad as the bullying that we are becoming increasingly aware of, for example in schools and at the workplace.

I believe that those of us who are in politics, journalism, business, policymaking and activism have a duty to discourage such behaviour and instead do our utmost for productive dialogue. However, such responsibility should also be extended across society: each one of us should ideally do our part for a speech situation that is not distorted by insults, falsities, fabrications and fundamentalism.

To move towards such a situation, certain steps could be taken. Here I mention some of them.

To begin with, one should acknowledge that there are different points of view that may converse with each other. For this to happen, humility is imperative. Some of us may have more expertise on certain subjects than others. For example, a dentist most probably has more expertise on the cause of a tooth ache than a three-minute google search. Similarly, a town planner may know more about what causes traffic problems than a casual commentator with a bad mood after a traffic jam. And a judge usually carries out more evidence-based research on a case than a random vox pop respondent would.

Humility also means that we all have a lot to learn and that no one has all the right answers on all the topics of the world: expertise in one area does not necessarily mean expertise in other areas.

It is also very important to actively listen. Listening means really giving importance to other points of view and not having a ready-made answer up one’s sleeve whatever the other person may say. Or, even worse, crucifying a messenger just because he does not happen to belong to one’s group. Thus, keeping an open mind on an issue before deciding in advance is key.

Style of communication is also very important. It is fine to disagree and this may be done without resorting to insults or to denigrating comments. I find it amazing that we are so conscious about political correctness but then have no trouble insulting political adversaries, for example, through classist elitism or opposite antics such as anti-intellectualism. Maybe, we all need some lessons in basic communication and ethics.

One may also seek to be constructive, to find common ground and to acknowledge that some problems and issues are very complex and multifaceted. Sometimes questions do not have simple answers.

Maybe we can all start the upcoming political season by trying to be courteous and reasonable. Let’s build bridges, not walls. But let’s not feed the trolls.

In-nazzjonaliżmu u l-migrazzjoni – Michael Briguglio

Ir-riżultati elettorali fil-Punent juru biċ-ċar li n-nazzjonaliżmu hu sors ewlieni għall-identità ta’ bosta votanti. Iżda t-terminu ‘nazzjonaliżmu’ ma għandux tifsira waħdanija: jista’ jkun ispirazzjoni daqstant għal dawk li jemmnu f’soċjetà msejsa fuq is-solidarjetà u l-ġid komuni daqskemm hu għal dawk li jemmnu f’soċjetà allinjata ma’ identità waħda, sew jekk reliġjuża, kulturali jew ideoloġika.

Bla dubju, il-migrazzjoni hija kwistjoni soċjali u politika ewlenija madwar l-Ewropa. Stħarriġ xjentifiku soċjali wara ieħor jikkonferma li n-nies madwar il-kontinent huma mħassbin dwar din il-kwistjoni. Ikun irresponsabbli jekk il-politiċi u dawk li jfasslu l-politika jinjoraw dan, għalkemm dan ma jfissirx li hemm biss mod wieħed kif tiġi indirizzata l-kwistjoni. Barra minn hekk, ma nemminx li teżisti soluzzjoni maġika sempliċi għal kwistjonijiet kumplessi bħal dawn.

Sadanittant, il-partiti politiċi li qed jużaw lingwaġġ qawwi ta’ esklużjoni f’dan il-qasam qed jieħdu vantaġġ minn mewġa ta’ skuntentizza f’pajjiżi madwar l-Ewropa. Saħansitra fl-Iżvezja, sikwit meqjusa bħala l-aktar pajjiż favorevoli għar-refuġjati fid-dinja, il-Partit Demokratiku populista bħalissa qiegħed fil-quċċata ta’ kull stħarriġ li qed isir. Ir-riżultati tal-elezzjonijiet nazzjonali li saru dan l-aħħar fl-Italja, l-Awstrija, l-Ungerija u pajjiżi oħrajn jagħtuna idea ċara ta’ x’għandna nistennew fl-elezzjonijiet Ewropej li ġejjin sakemm ma jitfasslux strateġiji politiċi aktar effettivi elettoralment.

Madankollu hemm eċċezzjonijiet għal din ix-xejra: Emmanuel Macron u Angela Merkel  huma l-eżempji li wieħed minnufih jaħseb fihom, avolja Merkel il-ħin kollu qed tħabbat wiċċha ma’ appelli għal politika aktar iebsa dwar il-migrazzjoni. Il-loġika tan-numri parlamentari tfisser li sikwit ikollha tilħaq kompromess dwar il-pożizzjonijiet tagħha, pożizzjonijiet li oriġinarjament ikunu orjentati aktar lejn is-solidarjetà.

Fl-istess waqt , xi esperti fix-xjenza politika sabu li meta partiti moderati taċ-ċentru f’pajjiżi bħall-Italja u l-Ġermanja adottaw pożizzjoni aktar iebsa dwar il-migrazzjoni meta mqabbla mal-pożizzjonijiet li kellhom qabel, dan xorta waħda ma waqqafx lill-partiti populisti milli jmorru tajjeb fl-elezzjonijiet. Iżda dan ifisser li l-partiti taċ-ċentru għandhom jagħmlu bil-kontra u sempliċement jinjoraw it-tħassib tan-nies dwar il-migrazzjoni? Nemmen li dan kieku jagħti opportunitajiet saħansitra akbar lill-populisti.

Għalija, ix-xenarju attwali jfisser li n-nazzjonaliżmu għandu jiġi artikolat b’mod politikament produttiv li jagħti valur lis-solidarjetà u lid-dinjità tal-bniedem. Naħseb li dak li għandu jsir hu li jintuża lingwaġġ li jesprimi tfittxija għal-libertà u l-ġid komuni kemm permezz ta’ jeddijiet kif ukoll permezz ta’ responsabbiltajiet fi ħdan in-nazzjon b’mod partikolari u l-UE b’mod ġenerali. Dan in-nazzjonaliżmu ma għandux ikun assoċjat esklużivament ma’ identità waħda bl-esklużjoni ta’ oħrajn: għall-kuntrarju għandu jiddefinixxi l-ġid komuni b’mod li jippermetti li persuni ġejjin minn ambjenti differenti jistgħu jkunu parti mis-soċjetà jekk in-normi bażiċi jitħarsu.

Din l-għamla ta’ patrijottiżmu għalhekk ma tkunx marbuta ma’ kulur, razza jew twemmin. Tkun marbuta ma’ valuri bażiċi li jgħaqqdu lill-bnedmin, bħar-rispett u t-tolleranza. Tenfasizza l-ħtieġa li jkollna lingwaġġ komuni sabiex in-nies ilkoll ikunu jistgħu jikkomunikaw bejniethom.

Tkun tagħti valur lil tradizzjonijiet tal-post filwaqt li tilqa’ t-tradizzjonijiet tal-persuni li jaslu fil-pajjiż, sakemm ikun hemm rispett miż-żewġ naħat u d-drittijiet stabbiliti tal-individwi ma jinkisrux.

Stili ta’ ħajja u kulturi li jippromwovu l-intolleranza, il-vjolenza u l-oppressjoni ma għandhomx jiffurmaw parti minn xenarju bħal dan.

Il-maġġoranzi kulturali, ideoloġiċi u politiċi jeħtieġ li jirrispettaw id-drittijiet tal-minoranzi, hekk kif il-minoranzi jeħtieġ li jirrispettaw id-drittijiet tal-maġġoranzi. Il-kuntrarju ta’ din l-għamla ta’ nazzjonaliżmu jkun sitwazzjoni fejn ikun hemm diversi forom ta’ fundamentaliżmu li jkunu wisq esklużivi jew ikunu jridu sitwazzjoni ta’ libertinaġġ mingħajr ebda normi u valuri li jorbtu lin-nies.

Ovvjament, l-implimentazzjoni ta’ politika bħal din mhijiex faċli. Fil-kuntest tal-UE, hu tassew diffiċli li jintlaħaq qbil dwar il-qsim tar-responsabbiltà għar-refuġjati, u kif inhuma l-affarijiet ma nistax nimmaġina soluzzjoni oħra għajr il-qsim volontarju tar-responsabbiltà permezz ta’ koalizzjonijiet ta’ pajjiżi ta’ rieda tajba.

Dan jitlob li l-istati membri jagħrfu li jridu jagħtu u mhux biss jieħdu mingħand xulxin, u li dawn ikunu lesti jgħinu lil xulxin u jimxu mal-valuri bażiċi Ewropej. Dan jeħtieġ ukoll approċċ ta’ aktar solidarjetà u ta’ għajnuna reċiproka ma’ pajjiżi terzi li jkunu għaddejjin minn kriżijiet umanitarji. Eżempju ta’ dan ikun assistenza b’riżorsi  u għajnuna bħala kumpens għall-irfigħ tar-responsabbiltà u r-rispett tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem.

Dan l-artiklu deher fil-Mument, 12 ta' Awissu 2018

After Egrant… a lesson to be learnt – Michael Briguglio

Malta Today, 8 August 2018

“During the (2017) elector l campaign, the Nationalist Party’s main message was against corruption, stating that in a normal European democracy the institutions would long have taken action against those involved in Panama Papers. The independent media also focused very much on governance, in what turned out to be one of the most controversial general elections in recent Maltese political history. There were high expectations that more information would be published on Egrant, but this did not materialize. Yet remarkably, Labour won comfortably.  The Egrant political liability was turned into an asset, with Labour’s narrative of ‘where’s the proof’ becoming stronger and stronger. Whereas Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi’s involvement in Panama Papers was crystal clear, the ownership of Egrant was subject to debate. An example of the post-truth society, if Malta ever needed one. 

“Surely, Egrant alone cannot explain Labour’s electoral victory. But it does show that governance and corruption, important as they are, are not necessarily the most important issues for certain electorates, such as that of Southern European Malta. An immediate question comes to mind: How can a political party that believes in transparency and good governance reconcile this with the main aspirations of the electorate? This is surely a question that Malta’s opposition will have to face in the immediate future.”  

The text above is from my article ‘Panama Papers and Malta’, published in the European Atlas of Democratic Deficit 2017. 

From day one, Egrant was based on allegation, whereas Hearnville and Tillgate were based on admission of ownership by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. Malta eagerly awaits the outcome of upcoming inquires on the matter. 

True, the Egrant allegations were too strong to dismiss, and one should also keep in mind that when the anti-corruption protests started the Egrant story had not yet erupted. The question is whether Egrant should have then been given equivalent importance to Hearnville and Tillgate. Clearly not, and the benefit of hindsight confirms this.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, some of the findings of Aaron Bugeja’s inquiry –such as the forged signatures and the CCTV footage on the Pilatus Bank chairman are very difficult to ignore.

Unlike Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri 's involvement in Panama papers, no one has admitted he/she owns Egrant. The inquiry proved that no proof of ownership has been found yet and that allegations to date have not been proven. So it raises various questions... like who falsified the signatures and why? What can Nexia BT tell us about the ownership of Egrant? 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat still has a lot to answer for, particularly on the involvement of Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi in the Panama Papers scandal, and for his chief of staff owning a bank account in Pilatus Bank.

I feel that Muscat probably called the enquiry on Egrant as he knew legal proof would never come out – he consequently rode the political wave through the 2017 general election which his party won convincingly. On the other hand, Hearnville and Tillgate had proof but Labour 's strong majority and the power of Schembri and Mizzi in the triumvirate made them untouchable, as they are not being held to the same standards that Joseph Muscat held for himself.

As for future instances of corruption, I will keep being active for justice and truth with my colleagues. But I also believe that Egrant has taught a lesson to politicians, activists and journalists to double check before crusading on an issue.

I also subscribe to the view that the Nationalist opposition should articulate inclusive, non-patronising discourse that focuses on the myriad of everyday issues which people experience and which are in synch with party core beliefs such as solidarity, dignity and subsidiarity.

The latest MaltaToday survey also clearly confirms the need for democratic unity within the Nationalist Party: this highlights the need to respect the will of its members and the need to keep reaching out to the people by listening to their grieviances and aspirations.