A government on botox
Each day and every utterance from the Prime Minister is drawing our reality farther and farther away from life as we know it. People can feel the tug and the uncomfortable sensation that nothing is anymore what it seems.
Rachel Borg is an independent columnist based in the tourism industry ike the glass slipper that didn’t fit on the foot of Cinderella’s step-sister, there is a forced effort to make things happen for Malta, but which in fact, point more to the benefit of an individual than the island’s potential growth.
All around us, from nature to nurture, there is a passive aggressive intrusion that goes deep into the core of our being, compelling us to adapt to survive this continuous threat to our well-being.
Let us start with the environment, which we cannot escape. The policy to build at any cost, in any way and above any land or even water is now obvious and uninhibited. No argument or protest, no caution or care is given any importance whatsoever in countering this free fall in permits and policies towards construction of any type or size.
From the external pavement balconies on streets that can hardly afford space for a scooter to park to hotels in quarries and protected valleys, to high-rise buildings in the midst of urban communities without adequate planning and infrastructure and to the house next door, now a dormitory for tourists or foreign workers. Our country-side made off-limits even in nature parks due to hunting. The social fabric of towns and villages is being wiped out and the growing sensation of unease is making everyone nervous and confused at how all this is taking place without control.
This uncontrolled building has altered radically the image of our country, something which does not go unmissed by tourists, who themselves feel disappointed at the state of not only the environment but also the character of the islands of Malta and Gozo. Many other destinations have seen themselves drop radically in popularity due to a change in their image, whether in security or standards. Noise and traffic pollution is another factor that is harming us both in terms of the quality of life and where the civilian population is concerned.
As we continue to get pumped up on botox, even our finances and our economy seem construed from diminishing resources. Land, stone, manpower, integrity, clean seas, affordability are some of the elements in the pot getting tossed around from hand to hand like a brown paper package wrapped up in string. How secure is our economy if no real investment has been made into new industry or activity? Are we to be satisfied that now we will have manufacturing of cannabis on our agricultural land? Nothing fits. Everything is twisted and manipulated to suit one failed idea after another.
From the VGH to the Electrogas deal, to Airmalta and social housing, health, especially mental health, education, democracy, justice, roads, traffic, building and councils that are left impotent, we are besieged by a mentality of a primordial mode of life.
Again, it does not fit. How can we be projecting Malta and Gozo onto the international stage, in a fit of what is termed globalisation, when we are not getting it right at home?
A country that is marketed for religious feasts and following in the Footsteps of St. Paul, or tracing its Jewish heritage, that is known for its churches and its faith, we behave in not just a full on secular mode but verge on atheism. Small mercy that this year the Annie Mac Lost and Found Festival will take place in May and not over Holy Week. The proximity to an at best agnostic leadership is distorting our culture and our sense of being and of community. This then leads to a deep insecurity and may result in racism or discriminatory opinions and the absence of solidarity begins to manifest.
This week we have seen and heard about people who are facing destitution. That such realities are happening regularly amongst us, whilst at the same time we are told of the great wealth and employment available, is simply outrageous. Even more outrageous is the fact that the General Workers Union does not sound its voice at all. Does it even still exist? Another impotent organisation.
Another shoe that does not fit. Empowerment by wealth and impotent institutions. The image of a strong leader over a morass of failing legality and moral shame. The contradiction of having a socialist government (or one elected on the ticket of a socialist party) behaving in the most capitalistic and immoral way, so that even European Socialists cannot reconcile the decisions and attitude of our government, with their political beliefs.
Democracy itself, now just an excuse for coming to power, lies like a dirty rag at a petrol station. God help us should the writing of a new Constitution be entrusted to this government. If the PN have some idea that they will become the authors of this Constitution, they themselves are in a fantasy. Yes, it may be time to modify the Constitution but rather than looking to be what they consider “positive” and over-estimating their influence, the Opposition should realise that they will not be coming anywhere near the text and composition of this document and begin to take important steps to get themselves elected so that we can avoid the prospect of seeing the final nail go into the coffin of a democratic country. Those steps to get elected were glaring by their absence this week when we heard about the lady and her son who are remaining with only €20.00 from her meagre income after having to pay rent and income tax arrears on a sum of €6,000.00 whilst Nationalist party leader Adrian Delia sits on his pile of outstanding dues to the IRD. Simply irreconcilable.
The infrastructure is about to collapse under the weight of artificial growth and expansion. Caught in an illusion of grandeur, the people themselves are now feeling impotent to find their way out of this state of affairs and simply accept it as normal, growing more accustomed to the tragic loss of sovereignity.
Possibly, ironically, the person who may be feeling most fear is the Prime Minister who recently reiterated his intention to withdraw from office. It may seem that things are closing in on him and getting tighter as voice after voice from foreign institutions are calling him out and project after project is uncovered as a corrupt and selfserving deal.
Our country has become culturally poor and socially and globally irrelevant. We simply do not know how to be ourselves without fear of poverty and becoming disconnected from the majority. We wait to see what stands the test of reality.