It all started just over 11 years ago when we were guaranteed that Malta belonged to all of us – Malta Tagħna Lkoll. Now I can safely say that Malta belongs only to a few oligarchs.

In such a tiny country, everyone knows who these moguls are. No one can hide because the end result of the business they carry out is there for all to see.

It was primarily the Labour government that set the wheels in motion by involving the State’s ancillary institutions in investing in dubious projects abroad. This mainly concerned Enemalta.

The 2017 general election was a promise of heaven on earth. It was declared that “L-aqwa żmien għadu ġej” (The best of times is still to come). Labourites and non-Labourites again voted for this capricious slogan. Another bluff!

Notwithstanding objections to the introduction of the controlled use of cannabis, the government forged ahead with its plan to make it easier to partake in smoking cannabis.

Statistics have shown that there is an increase in the number of users of this drug who are seeking medical treatment.

Then came the 2022 general election with a cry from the heart: “Malta Flimkien” (Malta together).

Of course, I took this slogan as referring to all Labour Party supporters, and indeed it was. See what happened to some of them who gobbled up a fraudulent social benefit scheme by receiving €450 every four weeks, for falsely certified ailments, instigated by their party: they ended up in court. Transport Malta followed suit when it delivered unmerited new driving licences at the instigation of high public officials.

A few years on and we see the subtle attempt at legalising abortion. A solution was found to this impasse by introducing a clause laying down that only when the life of the mother-to-be is certified to be in real jeopardy may an abortion be carried out.

Accepting the notion that boys and girls (16+) can become councillors in our local councils, even mayors, the government again had its way.

And now in order to appease drug traffickers, the government has issued a white paper which suggests a considerable increase in the legal amount of possession of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ecstasy pills, with criminal impunity.

Apart from the above, one must consider the nolle prosequi declaration by the attorney general in the Pilatus Bank fiasco, by going against the magistrate’s conclusions from his inquiry.

The prize for the biggest bluff of all goes to gullible voters who thought Malta and Gozo would be linked by an undersea tunnel- Anthony Saliba

Likewise, I may add the non-execution of recommendations made in magisterial and boards of enquiries.

But the prize for the biggest bluff of all goes to all gullible voters who thought that Malta and Gozo would be linked by an undersea tunnel and that we would be served with a fast and furious underground metro rail system.

Rubbish! In fact, all those highly expensive researches, surveys and plans must have been placed in the rubbish bins by now. Or maybe not. Where there is life there is hope.

The government persists in bluffing its way through the hospitals saga, notwithstanding appeal court rulings clearly blaming it for the financial hole of circa €400,000,000.

Gimmicks such as the handing out of thousands of cheques described as “tax refunds”, especially when an election is on the horizon, are not sparse with this government. I will not be bought by such a bluff and would return the cheque to government or deposit it with a charitable organisation.

What about high public officials bluffing their way by telling us: freeze your organic waste until collection day; use your car when the rush hours are over; do not use the Gozo Channel ferry ships on any

Sunday when returning to Malta between 5pm and 8 pm. I guess this applies to mid-week public holidays as well.

Bluffing its way into letting us believe that the ruination of the main Valletta streets, by granting encroachment terms to catering establishments, is a step forward in resuscitating the capital city and tourist numbers; the government and the Malta Tourism Authority, abetted by the Valletta local council, ride roughshod over residents’ and pedestrians’ complaints.

Let me remind the government that in March 2023, the ombudsman sought relief by presenting a report to the House of Representatives on this subject. Due to lack of action by the government, the ombudsman took his case to the prime minister as provided by law. 

The latter most probably shelved the report, resulting in such a chaotic situation in Valletta that there is no room for an ambulance or fire engine to manoeuvre. 

I could go on. The government’s approach is to divert the public’s attention away from the way it is governing in bits and pieces. This is what I call bluff.

Anthony Saliba is an author and critic.