A month has passed since the European Parliament elections, resulting in the Labour Party losing its supermajority.
Prime Minister Robert Abela claimed he understood the message sent by the electorate and promised change to address people’s concerns. Still, nothing of substance has been announced. And we are not holding our breath.
The only change narrative comes from Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, who can be described as a voice calling in the wilderness.
Caruana has often been lauded as the voice of conscience for many who believe that the country is on the wrong economic path and that a change in strategy is essential.
In an interview with Times of Malta, he shared some thought-provoking comments on what needs to be done to meet the electorate’s expectations.
His reform agenda is painful but perhaps the only one that addresses the concerns of those who are losing faith in the ability of our political leaders to act as statements rather than party prima donnas mainly interested in perpetuating their political careers with the perks this brings with it.
The population explosion is undoubtedly one of the core concerns of most people.
Despite the country’s physical limitations, the government has no tangible alternative to the economic system of importing low-paid, low-skilled workers to satisfy employers’ needs.
Caruana hinted that for this addiction to cheap labour to stop and give the physical infrastructure a chance to cope, business leaders must come on board and buy into the painful change programme needed to reduce the dependence on foreign labour. Caruana is correct in pointing out that this will be hard to achieve.
While many pay lip service to the need for change, they want others to change rather than change themselves.
With elections more than two years away, it is hard to imagine Abela honouring his promise to introduce unpopular changes to meet people’s expectations.
The debacle of our education system is an example of the government’s inability to manage the change needed to make our workers better skilled for today’s economy.
Lengthy disputes with educators on work conditions are absorbing more time than strategic thinking to make our education system fit for purpose. And as teachers beg for scraps, our film commission continues splurging millions to continue placating egos.
The future, as Caruana points out, is not to create more low-skilled, low-paid jobs but to level up the achievement level of our education system to ensure our young people can fill vacancies in the new economy.
Employers, businesses and trade unions must come together and help map out a medium to long-term strategy to slow down our dependency on cheap labour and innovate the economy. They need to understand why Maltese workers are conspicuously absent from certain industries. Is it because the government continues absorbing tens of thousands of workers leaving employers with no human resources? Or is it because most Maltese workers refuse to accept low-paid salaries and poor conditions?
Recent international surveys confirm that, despite Malta’s impressive economic growth in the last decade, we are among the world’s most stressed and worried people. Many are beginning to realise that GDP growth statistics mean very little to them as they see their quality of life falling rapidly.
Sadly, Abela lacks the courage to show that he is a transformational statesman who is more interested in the long-term prosperity of the people he leads. It is time for the prime minister to realise that tempers are flaring and to devise a sustainable plan with Caruana and the social partners.