Private sector organisations have asked for an urgent Malta Council for Economic and Social Development meeting to discuss the “political and institutional meltdown” the country was facing.
“Social partners, through the MCESD, need to get their heads together to shake the country out of its state of denial and address this situation concretely before matters reach critical mass,” the business bodies said in a letter to the MCESD in which an urgent meeting was requested.
The request by the Malta Employers’ Association, the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Chamber of SMEs was made in view of the political situation facing both major political parties who the employers said should get their respective houses in order.
They said that on one hand, the governing party is mired in an ever-increasing series of scandals, with its obvious effect on the country’s international reputation which is a serious threat to the economy.
On the other hand, the party in opposition is a disorganised mess and is failing miserably to project itself as an alternative government.
Social partners need to get their heads together to shake the country out of its state of denial
“Society is being betrayed by the political class, and there is a general loss of faith in leadership and in our major institutions, such as the courts and police.
“Such a state of affairs is untenable and carries the real danger of institutional collapse,” the employers said.
In a statement earlier this month, the Malta Employers Association expressed its serious concerns on the present political situation, warning that it will leave no winners and the country stands to lose what the Maltese people have worked so hard to achieve post-Independence.
“Unlike COVID-19, this is a crisis of our own making which no vaccine will cure,” the association said.
“The only way in which we can get out of this hole is by acknowledging the gravity of the situation, putting aside tribal differences, and to have a concerted effort to clean up our act by stamping out crime and corruption.
“We need to restore core values based on entitlement through hard work, solidarity and tolerance, and a business environment based on trust, enterprise and commitment.”
The MEA underscored the need to seriously consider parliamentary reform to attract Malta’s best elements towards the vocation which is politics.
It is reliably understood that the meeting is expected to be called this week.