Malta is currently facing the risk of a prolonged recession once the wage supplement is stopped, however, few seem to be speaking of this risk. I will be publishing the article on the risks I see in the economy tomorrow, meanwhile, all of these risks are exacerbated by a Prime Minister void of any knowledge, vision or direction needed to address the various crises we are going through.
So far, the risk of having a total idiot at the helm of the country’s executive is being overlooked, however, the consequences will eventually be apparent to all since the decisions of the executive affect in a very tangible way our everyday lives and the kind of society we live in.
And you shouldn’t expect Robert Abela to address any problems we have in our country. He has just outsourced one of the greatest challenges and problems we have as a society to the Catholic Church. Affordable housing is an ever-increasing challenge for young couples, but instead of addressing the issue by technical and structural policies, Robert Abela has just signed an agreement with Archbishop Charles Scicluna which will see the Government pay around €300,000 every year to the Church to host homeless people in its unused convents.
This agreement can symbolise everything that is wrong with Robert Abela. Robert is genuinely unable to find problems and solutions to the myriad of problems the country is facing, so for him bringing in the Archbishop in the most feudal of ways to help him address in terms of policy and action one of society’s most pressing problems, is a way to relieve some weight off his shoulder. On the other hand, you have the Catholic Church which has a serious problem of unused convents and properties and has exploited Robert Abela’s vulnerabilities to cash in a great rent-seeker deal: profit for charity. Had Joseph Muscat had been in Charles Scicluna’s position, he would also have taken that deal. Nice one Charles. So, you not only dumped your fellow flock of Nadur to the pseudo-feudal lords claiming their homes, now you are cashing in from the government for providing it with homes for the homeless.
This is a typical deal the Nationalist Party would have made with the Church: a deal which goes against all the socialist, liberal and secular principles we have fought for many years. The welfare state should be the responsibility of the State and not of a religious organization that has its own religious agenda. The State is there for everyone – the Church is there for its members, and although it may also help others who are not its members, your universal rights can only be guaranteed by the State which is for all of its citizens. I feel stupid having to explain and write these things in 2022, but Robert Abela is happily taking us back to the Dark Ages.
Tomorrow, I will be publishing my article on the risks we face in the economy.
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