The COVID incompetence – Peter Agius

Sadly but unsurprisingly, as foreseen by the experts, the COVID19 numbers in Malta this week continue their upward spiral.

While Prime Minister Abela keeps fit in Marina di Ragusa our health frontliners face thousands of swabbing requests and tens of COVID-19 patients in our hospitals.

This week I met one of the health professionals on the virus battle front. To break the ice, I mentioned the hundreds of Maltese flags adorning our balconies these days, signs of solidarity with the front-liners. The doctor in front of me scolded me with a less than enthusiastic reaction to the said flags. In his view, the solidarity that is needed right now is generalised self-discipline in following the health and safety recommendations. ‘ Flags won’t help me keep the virus at bay’, he said, ‘the right policy choices would’.

Our nurses, doctors and all others on the frontline of this battle are risking a lot to keep us safe. I think we owe them more than a symbolic visit to a testing centre or to some nursing ward. The political class must set the example. Period. In many cases, it is doing just the contrary.

The most painful example of this is Minister Julia Farrugia’s recent Facebook outburst. In the classical worst of labour ethos that the best defence is to attack, the honourable Farrugia told us this week that the Nationalist Party supporters and those ‘who do not have Malta at heart’ are unhappy with her bravery in pushing the voucher scheme. Well, these words hardly merit a reaction, right? Well, were it not for the fact that the Minister’s words were met with a wave of support from her followers, those words would have indeed merited disregard. The ‘positive’ reaction exposes however their dangerous character.

Let me first share my view of how we got here. I think that the spiralling COVID-19 cases are not just a matter of Malta turning unlucky with the virus. Back in June, when matters seemed indeed in control and when Honourable Farrugia’s competence was reserved to an occasional funny interview on international TV, many commentators were arguing for a strategic approach to a revamped tourism season. In this same column in June, I made the case for a niche focused tourism strategy targeting highvalue tourism. Basically, we needed well-off families with particular interests, from diving to culture and history, to fill at least half of our hotels.

Instead, the Honourable Minister’s strategy was simply to give an open cheque to a Konrad Mizzi henchmen in charge of tourism promotion. This gentleman bet all his cards on vulturing on Ibiza’s prudent closure of bars and party venues, attracting these party-goers to Malta instead. Instead of attracting the masked and middle-aged, we called for all the wild and unmasked in their twenties. In any other year, this would have been fine. We have a market for both. In the annus orribilis of COVID19 this blunder however cost Malta its’ tourism season and is risking the health and serenity of thousands of Maltese.

If you ask me, or any other European with a sense of political balance of things, I would say that the politician where this buck stops would hand their resignation by c.o.b. And yet, in our Malta the Minister not only does not have the modesty to admit any shortcomings, but instead brings out the joker card of ‘those who do not have Malta at heart’. Beggars belief.

Problem is, Julia is probably just playing the role as expected by her peers. There cannot be much bigger expectations when your boss is speeding to Marina di Ragusa to catch up on the spinning class while the health Minister has to face the uncomfortable questions. There can’t be anyone expecting others to show responsibility or at least political correctness when your colleagues admit to endorsing corruption just to keep their salary. This is after all the Republic of Malta, where the Attorney General who sat on 3 FIAU reports for years, instructing investigators to take it easy on a major public scandal, can resign in peak silly season for health issues.

This is the Republic of Malta. It is begging for someone with the moral authority to see responsibility back in government, for incompetence to be called such and competence rewarded. For well-timed decisions protecting our health before our profits. For balanced decisions to distribute profits without cuts for public officials. This Republic is getting angry. You better set its house in order. Now.