Editorial: The fading feel-good factor

Some political leaders invest in the feel-good factor among the electorate to ensure their longevity in power.

They seek to promote a widespread feeling of well-being and financial security, primarily viewed as a factor that could lead to electoral success. Still, promoting the feel-good factor is one of the most elusive objectives in politics.

In an interview on the Labour Party’s radio station, Prime Minister Robert Abela said his government envisages the biggest tax cut ever granted in our country’s history, to be announced in the next budget. Unsurprisingly, he targets the ‘middle class’, a not-so-clearly defined section of society.

Rather surprisingly, Abela’s announcement also drew a remarkable number of critical comments accusing him of misplaced priorities and of seeking to score political points.

For more than a decade, the economy grew at an impressive rate, enabling thousands of workers to see their income increase. However, this phenomenon was accompanied by a deterioration in the quality of life of most people.

A sharp decline in the state of the fragile environment, failing public services, especially in health and education, institutionalised nepotism, traffic congestion and social tensions caused by the rapid increase in third country imported labour are just some of the realities that many face every day.

The country desperately needs long-term investment to upgrade its physical and social infrastructure. The deterioration in the public health system in the last decade, for instance, calls for massive investment in human and financial capital to meet ordinary people’s reasonable expectations.

Sadly, the hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money wasted in privatising some of our public hospitals has not done anything to cater for the increasing pressures on healthcare.

Moreover, the European Commission is unhappy with fiscal management in the economy. It has placed Malta under a more stringent fiscal surveillance process called the excessive deficit procedure.

Abela argues that he is not worried by this scrutiny as the economy is booming. He also ignores the advice of the IMF and rating agencies to reform the energy subsidies scheme that is fuelling public debt further.

So, relying on the elusive feel-good factor by pledging tax cuts is unlikely to promote the well-being of today’s and tomorrow’s generations.

We can only hope that any tax cuts will not further deteriorate public finances as the economic growth momentum is forecast to slow down.

This is a time for productive public investment in the economy and the infrastructure to ensure people’s lives are improved without burdening future generations with more public debt.

The internal struggles within the PL are well known. Abela is constantly criticised for lacking the leadership qualities to keep his team disciplined and united to address the country’s significant challenges.

The renewal of the PL administration in the coming weeks will not resolve the problems many ordinary people face because of the failure to change the government’s economic and social strategy.

The country needs political leaders who acknowledge the growing discontent among ordinary people about how their lives are affected by the dogmatic commitment to economic growth at all costs.

The country needs leaders of integrity who do not prioritise just their own and their party’s self-serving interests.

Ultimately, much hard work and sacrifices must be made to ensure that the middle class and lower class feel more confident about the future. Saving a few euros in reduced taxation is always welcome but thankfully more people are realising it is not the most important thing.