During the premierships of Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat I had attempted to answer this question in two ‘Talking Points’ but, on both occasions, I found it difficult to feel much pride in being Maltese.
I would have genuinely liked matters to improve over the years but, unfortunately, I have concluded that not only have several matters of national importance not improved but, on the contrary, they have deteriorated.
May I, therefore, take this opportunity to reiterate my concerns to the current prime minister, Robert Abela, in the hope that he will make amends for past mistakes. I do not think he should brush away criticism on the grounds that matters did not deteriorate under his watch. He now ‘carries the can’ and he should assume the responsibility for taking the necessary steps to correct what was blatantly wrong in the past.
Malta has yet to adopt an effective and enforceable policy of zero tolerance to the corruption we have endured in recent years, the scale of which we have not seen before. Notwithstanding pre-election promises of good governance and meritocracy, the government since 2013 has failed badly on both counts. Corruption can be described as dishonest behaviour by those in positions of power, such as government ministers and officials.
It usually includes giving or accepting bribes or inappropriate gifts, double-dealing and under-the-table transactions. Corruption destroys the trust people need to have in politicians to act in their best interests. Above all, it is the theft of the people’s taxes that could have been earmarked for important social projects.
It has taken over five years to act against a former government minister and the former prime minister’s chief of staff who were caught out with having illegally opened two secret companies in Panama. I think that this was the beginning of the end of Muscat’s political career and we have been on a slippery slope ever since.
Perhaps we have yet to learn how important reputation is to our country in the long term- Tony Zammit Cutajar
Why did we have to witness the heinous and brutal assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia? She was the investigative journalist who uncovered so much of what was wrong with the government and our society at large.
Many of us have lost any semblance of decency by becoming absolutely obsessed with greed and money (flashy, powerful cars and luxury floating palaces seem to have become the order of the day). This vulgar extravagance has not been helped at all by the example set by the government when it sold our ‘nation’s soul’ by flogging our citizenship/passports to many applicants whose only qualification was bag-loads of money.
This has undoubtedly caused irretrievable damage to our country’s reputation. Perhaps we have yet to learn how important reputation is to our country in the long term. In defence of this scheme, many have argued that it provides the nation with an additional revenue stream. I contend that if tax evasion were to be reduced by 30 or 40 per cent, we would replace the funds received from this citizenship scheme.
The government has allowed the construction/developer lobby to dictate our environmental and planning policy, thus changing Malta’s face and character forever. This is another glaring example of the growth delusion (measuring ‘progress’ only by increases in our national gross domestic product).
The above are some of the more important reasons why I, regretfully, still cannot feel proud to be Maltese.
In closing, can I say that loving one’s country does not necessarily make one proud of it. I love my country but I do not always feel proud of it because I do not agree with the way it is being governed.
Tony Zammit Cutajar is a retired businessman.