There seems to be no in-depth discussion on what is actually going on with Malta’s economy, so Minister of Finance Edward Scicluna can count on the obliviousness of his cabinet colleagues to draw up schemes unilaterally.

Now, I have nothing personal against Scicluna, and this is not meant to offend him. This is simply my analysis and personal opinion of the situation. If you don’t like it, you can move on to the next thing. It should not be considered as financial advice and you should formulate your own opinion about the situation.

The biggest problem with Scicluna is that he comes from a very different world and background to my generation, the so called “millennials”.  Scicluna has lived in a world where the stock-market has always gone up, and where the gradual inter-connectedness of the global-economy increased market opportunities, capital and jobs. Back then, if you wanted to make money you could simply put unvest in a stock-market index fund like the S&P 500 and one fine day sell it at a hefty profit. The millennial generation has lived in a period where it witnessed this mega-capitalist edifice crumbling down, first with the 2008 crisis and with the current crisis today. The millennial  generation has also experienced significant challenges to get ahead in life, especially given the fact that they have been mostly excluded from the property market. So, it is obvious, that the millennial generation has a very different perspective of capitalism from Scicluna and the boomer generation. 

The generational perspective is probably why Scicluna genuinely believes that this economic rut is temporary and everything will get back to normal after the pandemic is over. It is also probably the reason why central bankers, most of them octogenarian males and baby boomers, keep pumping liquidity into the financial system in the form of quantitative easing genuinely believing that some day this liquidity may stick and things return to normal again. 

Scicluna has drawn up a liquidity package of bank guarantees for commercial credit, despite the fact that Maltese banks still charge high interests in a negative-rate environment. The aim of this package seems to be to provide local companies with loans to survive the economic rut. But the obvious questions is, why would companies take more loans at this stage if they don’t know when the economy will start picking up? Why would anyone want to take the risk right now, especially with Maltese banks still charging high interest rates? The biggest and obvious problem right now is that companies have no revenues, and if they have existing loans to pay, they are going to get crushed. 

I am not criticisng the liquidity-package either – it may actually be useful to many companies who need quick credit-lines to keep on going, but there seems to be one very common method shared by boomers in their solutions to economic problems: debt. Debt, debt, debt and more debt. 

The Central Banking system is incentivising and encouraging this debt with its quantitative easing and low interest-rates – governments can sell bonds easily with the easy credit provided to big banks – this system ensures that both government and banks are liquid. And who is paying for and sustaining this system? In Malta’s case, the ultimate payer is us, the companies and the working people who have to pay more than 3% over our loans. In this bizarre system, which sounds like a sophisticated Ponzi-scheme, the banks get a small profit and their shareholders get an insignificant dividend-payment as their stock price keeps crashing. Meanwhile, the Euro against the US Dollar is losing its value and some predict it may keep depreciating significantly.

Admittedly, Scicluna has to work in this environment and there seems to be very little he can do as Minister of Finance of a small EU nation-state, but that doesn’t mean we should be complacent and fail to look at the bigger picture. 

One obvious solution to our problems is to halt bank-loan payments and restructure the debt, and/or provide debt jubilees to companies and individuals excluding building companies which have been grossly irresponsible in their excessive speculation and irregular construction all over the islands. Now, this may require the government to step up its ownership in local banks and take a strategic lead. Such a strategy may be unimaginable to a baby boomer who has got so accustomed to a certain perspective on capitalism to the extent that’s an equivalent to a dogmatic and a religious approach: if we have problems in the economy, we’ll simply pump liquidity into the system by increasing debt, and which we will pay tomorrow. Another big risk we are ignoring is the exposure of the local banks to a highly-leveraged construction industry. We still don’t know the extent of bad debts our local banks have. Meanwhile, we have to think about vulnerable people and we need to quickly provide them with necessities: food and shelter. There is an unprecedented number of lay-offs going on at the moment and many workers have problems paying their loans and their bills. Instant relief in the form of debt-jubilees and direct social payments are needed to help these people. 

It is not I, an insignificant soul in a miserable rock (Napoleon’s description, not mine) that is asking for radical measures to be taken. At this point of our political process in the world, there is an inevitable discussion going on about the fundamental social and economic relationships of the economy’s participants. The Republicans have turned to socialist measures as they scurry to provide helicopter money in the form of 2,000 dollar cheques to every individual – a measure which had been derided by most of the liberal technicians and economists. So, right now, the Republicans and the Democrats have come to terms with the idea that one of the ways to help ordinary people during a time of crisis is to literally hand them over some cash to spend. 

There are many things we can do in Malta to redraw our economy to ensure that everyone is protected and build a more just economy in the process. We have to survive this pandemic and this economic lock-down, but we also run the risk of waking up tomorrow with an array of problems which would cost us even more money if the current structural problems are not addressed. Once again, it is also important to stress that it is delusional to believe things will ever be the same again. These are turbulent times of historic proportions and we will be waking up to a very different tomorrow after this pandemic is over. We still don’t know where we are heading.

We’re witnessing history in real-time with a world going into economic crisis. The idea of helicopter money, previously derided by the liberal technicians and academics is now mainstream politics. The global-economy is literally closing down as governments across the world try to contain the pandemic. Central banks are pumping endless supply of money into the financial system assuming all this liquidity will someday stick and stabilise the system. The Maltese government issued a liquidity mechanism providing new credit to commercial companies backed by government guarantees, tax deferrals and social payments such as quarantine leave subsidy to employers.

What’s going to happen?

No one knows. Eventually the pandemic will be contained and things will normalise but things won’t be the same again. Those who sell you the idea that things will be the same as they were before have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. The economic, monetary and financial implications of the current events are wide-ranging

What could happen?

There are various outcomes and scenarios which may probably happen. First of all, we have to assume that we are in uncharted waters. Although past historical experiences can have a lot of similarities to what we are experiencing today such as Spanish Flu and plague epidemics, debasement of currencies and increasing deflation, what we experience today has it own distinctive and particular features such as rapid economic shutdown accompanied with rapid stock market crash and despite monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

One of the probable outcomes with regards to Malta is that property prices will go down significantly – this will be great for young couples who couldn’t afford to buy in the last couple of years when property prices sky-rocketed. It will also be good for renters. There is also another important aspect to this situation. How many building companies are over-leveraged and what is the exposure of the banks in case the building industry collapses? This, I think may be one of the risks ahead.

The other probable outcome is that jobs will not be as plentiful as previously and wages would go down as well. Before the pandemic broke out, the Maltese economy was by-far much more robust than it was in 2013, but we still don’t know the extent of the economic damage being done. Anecdotal evidence from foreign companies and foreign investors in Malta is very negative and they are trusted much more than the local business-class which has a strong tradition of rent-seeking and notorious for buying out both political parties with donations (disclaimer, there are also many good people in the same business-class as well, but facts can’t be denied). Anecdotal evidence from personnel of gaming companies may be different. I was once told by an igaming professional that 2008 was actually good for them since people gambled more during the crisis. Obviously, the tourism industry is devastated, as is retail, publishing and printing. Medical companies seem to be doing well. Any feedback with left in the comments are welcome.

What is happening?

There are many questions and arguments being made about government’s liquidity scheme. Some are arguing that the scheme ultimately benefits local banks. Maltese companies are claiming that the liquidity provided for new credit won’t be enough and need direct helicopter money. Social activists are arguing that helicopter money should be given directly to everyone to subsidise purchases of necessities: rent, food and other necessary expenses.

On the other hand, some argue that if the Maltese government is using the National Social Development Fund to guarantee bank loans when Maltese banks are still lending with rates of 3% and above, why doesn’t the government simply use the money from the said Fund to buy Bank of Valletta outright and issue the loans right away without having to build a complex leveraged-financial instrument? Maltese banks have given us big interest-rates compared to interest rates given in other European countries and as of now, nobody wants to own them any way.

What should happen?

Everyone wants money and people have to go on living even if the economy is shutdown. What is clear to everyone now is that the State has a very important role to protect society as a whole but especially to defend the vulnerable. The idea that Central Bankers can simply print more money to save the financial system is getting quickly outdated. Political leaders across the globe seem to be mostly incompetent in their handling of the crisis, starting from Trump who failed to recognise the gravity of the situation, to EU commissioner Ursual Von der Leyden who is completely clueless without any ideas to stem the potential ramifications of what is coming for the Euro-zone.

Clearly, the world is going into reset, but we lack strong and convincing political direction. It’s been quite a while since the world was in such a crossroads. Liberal technicians and academics have clearly failed us and their solutions will be suspicious given their track-record. There is also a very important factor which will determine the outcome of the reset. Generally, in history we see that when people were collectively experiencing a severe crisis, social solidarity increased – we’ve seen this taking place during the Second World War. It was only after the Second World War that the idea of socialism was then taken very seriously and universal health care was set up, the social and economic charter, strong pensions and minimum wage, social mobility, the right and possibility to own your own domicile, but also to do business in a free market without rent-seeking and the kleptocracy of oligarchs. Such a balanced outcome would have to be found yet again. I am rather skeptical on whether the Maltese government and the Labour Party right now is really interested in coming up with deep social and economic change, including the reforms we need to curb rent-seeking.

These are indeed interesting times. Government has recently announced a package of measures which will provide up to €1.8 billion in liquidity to the economy in what probably is the first of its kind in Maltese history. Funds for this guarantee will come from government’s piggy-bank, the National Development-Social Fund which has been funded by passport sales, and originally meant for investments, capital and social projects.

€1.6 billion will be provided to commercial companies in the form of €700 million tax deferrals and €900 million in bank guarantees over commercial loans guaranteeing a total of €4.5 billion in commercial credit. A further €210 million will be spent directly into the economy in the form of unemployment benefits, quarantine leave and further funding for the health-care system amongst other items.

It is yet unclear how the government is structuring this funding, but it seems that we will be borrowing to 1) sustain government’s recurrent revenue to offset tax deferrals and 2) and borrowing to fund commercial debt-payments in case companies default. It is unclear how many companies are currently at risk of missing their debt payments and also unclear who will be eligible for these guarantees. Government would have to borrow against capital from the NDSF to fund these guarantees. By 2019, government claimed that the Fund had acquired up to €544 million from passport sales of which €91 had been spent on capital and social projects while up to €200 million were spent on foreign securities and local shares such as BOV and Lombard Bank.

The package looks just a fraction of our total GDP which totaled around €13 billion last year, while government debt (mostly in bonds) amounts to €5.6 billion. It is unclear how much potential debt we will incur, but the bigger problem, even if we exclude this rescue package, is that we were previously sustaining debt-levels with significant economic growth, and it is of course not clear at what levels economic growth will come back. There are also many questions which the journalists at the press conference failed to ask, yet credit to Times of Malta and MaltaToday for asking the right questions on debt and interest rates. For example, will building companies who are already highly leveraged get these guarantees as well? Last thing we want in this country is for building magnates getting a bail-out.

The Minister of Health was then on national television explaining the pandemic and the measures being taken to contain it. Unsurprisingly he then got a little bit cocky and said that when in January Trump was still saying the situation was not serious, we in Malta were stocking up on ventilators. Trust the Maltese with survival and health-care. We have been surviving epidemics, famine and wars for most of our history now, so it may be no coincidence we appreciate some good health-care. Probably we have survivor genes too.

Now, some news from where I come from. Publishers have postponed the launch of their new books so basically they have stopped printing books. Book-shop sales have completely dried up and they are running on thin ice just with online orders. For the publishing industry the situation was already bad in the best of times, but now it’s a disaster. Over-all the situation seems and feels worse than 2008.

Bħalissa d-dinja għaddejja minn żmien ftit turbulenti hekk kif faqqgħat pandemija tal-virus Covid-19 li aċċellerat ir-reċessjoni ekonomika globali. Kien hemm sinjali kbar li kienu qed jgħidulna li d-dinja dieħla f’reċessjoni ekonomika: it-tibdil fiċ-ċiklu tal-kreditu, id-dejn fl-Amerka u f’pajjiżi fl-Ewropa bħal-Italja li kiber b’mod mhux sostenibbli, il-majnar tal-ekonomija Ċiniża li prattikament ippumpjat it-tkabbir ekonomiku dinji ta’ dawn l-aħħar għoxrin sena u r-reċessjoni ġenerali fl-Ewropa peress li l-Ewropa qisha kienet għadha ma irkupratx mill-kriżi tal-2008 u l-2009. Issa qed naraw l-ekonomija tad-dinja prattikament tingħalaq gradwalment minħabba l-epidemija u r-reċessjoni waslet iktar malajr u iktar vjolenti.

Malta hija ovjament ikkundizzjonata minn forzi esterni ekonomiċi u biex tgħaxxaq, eżatt qabel bdiet tinfirex l-epidemija tal-virus il-ġdid u faqqgħat ir-reċessjoni globali, Malta kienet għadha kemm ħarġet minn waħda mill-akbar kriżijiet politiċi fl-istorja tagħha.

L-isfond tal-kriżi lokali

Taħt il-Prim Ministru Joseph Muscat, Malta kienet għaddejja minn tkabbir ekonomiku sinifikanti li għal xi żmien kien iktar minn 6%. Kienet rata ta’ tkabbir fenomenali meta tqis minn kif kienet baqgħat għaddejja l-Ewropa, iżda ma’ dan it-tkabbir kibru wkoll il-problemi ambjentali bil-bini bla rażan li żdied ukoll grazzi għal-laxkar ta’ regulazzjonijiet. Kellek ukoll il-problema tal-prezzijiet għoljin tal-propjeta li wassal biex ħafna Maltin spiċċaw jew bla saqaf u ħafna żgħażagħ ma jistgħux jixtru post. Il-korruzzjoni baqgħat għaddejja wkoll u meta faqqgħat il-kwistjoni tal-Panama Papers, persuni fuq ix-xellug bħali li b’xi mod nagħmlu parti mill-istruttura politika tal-gvern u attivisti fil-Partit kellna dilemma.

Muscat kien ħareġ jgħid li Egrant ma kienetx tiegħu u l’anqas ta’ martu u sejjaħ elezzjoni bikrija. Lil Keith Schembri u Konrad Mizzi żammhom u qabeż għalihom u ħafna minnha fil-Partit konna infurjati b’dan. Konna nafu, ovjament, li Schembri u Mizzi kienu involuti f’korruzzjoni kemxejn kbira u għalkemm ma kienx jinteressana ħafna fid-dettall ta’ min eżattament kienet Egrant, uħud minnha konna wkoll ċerti li r-raġuni li Muscat żamm lil Schembri u Mizzi miegħu kien għaliex Muscat kien korrott daqshom jew magħhom. Kienet idea stupida li Schembri u Mizzi kienu indispensabbli, anke jekk kienu korrotti, u tant u hekk, li sezzjoni ta’ nies fil-Partit li kienu qed jirribellaw kienu ġew imwiegħda li wara l-elezzjoni, Schembri ma kienx ser jibqa’ Chief of Staff u kien hemm saħansitra anke isem ta’ persuna imsemmija li kienet ser teħodlu postu. Muscat ma żammx kelmtu.

Meta Muscat kien sejjaħ elezzjoni bikrija, ħafna minna li ma blajnix il-gideb ta’ Muscat, għal kuntrarju ta’ dawk li kienu konvinti li Schembri u Mizzi ma kienu għamlu xejn ħażin, konna rassenjati għall-fatt li l-Prim Ministru kien imdaħħal fil-korruzzjoni ma’ Schembri u Mizzi. Muscat kien sejjaħ elezzjoni bikrija biex juri u jikkonsolida s-saħħa tiegħu u konna nafu li Muscat kien wisq b’saħħtu biex it-tmexxija tiegħu tiġi sfidata fil-Partit. Fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar, it-tkabbir ekonomiku li sar ġab ħafna ġid lil ħafna persuni komuni u Muscat kien ġenwinament maħbub minn ħafna nies għal raġunijiet validi. Muscat kien sar Prim Ministru f’reċessjoni ekonomika li żammet il-maġġoranza tal-ħaddiema fil-prekarjat. Dawk l-apoloġisti ta’ Lawrence Gonzi u l-PN li dejjem jikwotaw ir-rata baxxa tal-qagħad, b’mod konvenjenti jħallu barra ċ-ċifri li juru li l-maġġoranza tal-ħaddiema kienu fil-fatt f’kundizzjonijiet ekonomiċi prekarji. Fejn qabel kważi l-biċċa l-kbira tal-pagi kienu daqs jew inqas minn €15,000 fis-sena, ħafna minnhom dawn bdew jiżdiedu għal €20,000 filwaqt li faxxa kbira ta’ ħaddiema li kienu jiddependu b’€750 fix-xahar f’idhom, beda jkollhom f’idhom €950 u €1,000 minflok. Kellek ukoll miżuri soċjali bħaċ-childcare b’xejn, żidied fil-pensjonijiet u x-xogħol kbir li sar biex terġa titqajjem is-sistema tas-saħħa fuq saqajha. Illum qed ingawdu sistema tas-saħħa li tista’ tiffoka fuq epidemija li waslet issa minflok qed tipprova tlaħħaq ma’ waiting lists ta’ operazzjonijiet ma jispiċċaw qatt. Jien naf min għama peress li dam tliet snin jistenna operazzjoni sempliċi tal-kataretti, imma dawn in-nies fis-soċjeta ftit li xejn kellhom vuċi taħt il-gvern ta’ Gonzi u l-istejjer tagħhom ġew injorati.

Kien hemm fattur importanti ieħor li anke għalija personalment kien importanti ħafna taħt it-tmexxija ta’ Muscat. Muscat appunta numru sostanzjali ta’ żgħażagħ tal-ġenerazzjoni tiegħi f’postijiet fil-gvern u anke fil-Partit, u bejn ħafna minnha, għalkemm ma konniex dejjem naqblu flimkien, kellna ħafna affarijiet u ideat komuni u konna nitkellmu u naħdmu ħafna flimkien. L-istorja tagħna tmur lura għas-snin meta konna norganizzaw l-oppożizzjoni kontra l-gvern ta’ Gonzi. Apparti minn hekk, kien hemm ħafna attvisti ta’ ġenerazzjonijiet eqdem li fil-Partit u fil-gvern ta’ Muscat li kienu qed jagħmlu xogħol sinjinfikanti u dawn ukoll kellhom l-ideat progressivi tagħhom. Joseph Bartolo, l-iSloopy, li miet milhux, kien wieħed minnhom. Għalina, fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar il-Partit Laburista ma kienx Joseph Muscat biss, u għalkemm Joseph Muscat kien il-mexxej, u probabilment korrott, aħna qatt ma konna lesti li nagħtu r-riedni f’idejn l-avversarji tagħna u li tant iġġilidna kontrihom qabel il-Labour daħal fil-gvern.

Fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar l-avversarji tagħna kienu l-istess nies li kien jippersegwitaw lil Alfred Sant talli kien jiġġieled kontra l-korruzzjoni. Il-lista twila ta’ skandli kbar ta’ korruzzjoni taħt il-PN hija storja miktuba u l-mantra tagħhom fuq dan is-suġġett kien aċċettat ukoll: il-korruzzjoni ma fijha xejn ħażin ladarba l-ekonomija sejra tajjeb. Gonzi tilef l-elezzjoni meta din il-mantra ma baqgħatx tanġibbli hekk kif l-ekonomija marret il-baħar. Muscat kien ukoll prodott ta’ din il-kultura, bla dubju. Għalina, l-ġenerazzjoni tiegħi li tant ipprotestajna fit-toroq kontra Gonzi u l-gvern, Simon Busuttil kien jirrappreżenta dak kollu li iġġilidna kontrieh minn żogħżitna: dak il-lagħaqi SDMjan li l-prattika fit-taħwid tibda mill-Kunsill tal-Istudenti, imbagħad jiggradwa mill-universita biex ikompli t-taħwid fuq skala ikbar mal-gvern.

Imbagħad, xi ħadd joqtol lil Daphne Caruana Galizia. Minn dak il-punt, l-affarijiet jibdew jinbidlu iżda għad ma konniex nafu eżattament kif bdew jinbidlu. Xi ħadd kien qabeż il-linja imma ma konniex nafu min. jien kont wieħed minn dawk li ħassejt ċert li Muscat u sħabu, Mizzi u Schembri qatt ma seta’ jkollhom x’jaqsmu mal-qtil tagħha. Kienet tkun xi ħaġa inkredibbilment stupida li toqtol lil Daphne biex taħbi każ ta’ korruzzjoni politika – konna ngħidu. Apparti minn hekk, konna nassumu wkoll li Muscat kien ser jipprova jsolvi l-każ malajr biex ikun jista’ jkompli bl-ambizzjonijiet politiċi tiegħu fl-istrutturi tal-Unjoni Ewropea.

Ir-revelazzjonijiet li bdew joħorġu minn Novembru li għadda, fejn Schembri kien f’kuntatt ma’ Fenech sal-aħħar mumenti tal-arrest tiegħu, l-ittri li provaw iwaħħlu l-qtil fuq Chris Cardona, u l-aħħar waħda li Silvio Valletta, l-eks assistent-kummissarju tal-pulizija li kien jsiefer personalment ma’ Fenech, fost ħafna oħrajn, jagħtu l-impressjoni li kien hemm xi ħadd fil-gvern u/jew mill-OPM li kien qed ifixkel jew jgħatti l-investigazzjonijiet fuq il-qtil ta’ Daphne. Dan dejjem jekk nassumu li Silvio Valletta ma kienx qed jaġixxi waħdu (u li ma kienx double-agent-super-hero 007). Il-fatt li Mizzi, Schembri u Fenech qatt ma ġew mtella’ l-qorti fuq korruzzjoni juri biċ-ċar li l-istituzzjonijiet, inkluż uffiċjali għolja fiċ-ċivil bħal-Avukat Ġenerali u l-pulizija stess fallew milli jagħmlu xogħolhom u saħansitra ikkontribbwixxew għall-atmosfera ta’ impunita. Allura, imbagħad kien qisu li l-mafja ħakmet mhux biss il-gvern iżda anke l-istituzzjonijiet tal-pajjiż.

Sa ma qabel qatluha, dawk bħali fil-kamp tax-xellug, qatt ma’ ħadniha bis-serjeta lil Daphne. Taħt il-gvernijiet Nazzjonalisti Daphne ma kienetx tieħu l-korruzzjoni ta’ dak iż-żmien bis-serjeta, imma anke jekk Daphne bdiet tikteb kontra l-korruzzjoni għax kellha konvinzjonijiet politiċi kontra l-Labour, ma konna naraw xejn stramb b’dan l’anqas. Ovjament, kienet klassista, u kienet tumilja n-nies bil-ħxuna tagħhom u l-fattizzi personali tagħhom u ovjament għax kienu Laburisti. Sħabi u jien ma konniex nieħdu għalina personalment bħal ħafna qerrieda tal-parlament u qas biss konna narawha bħala xi ħadd importanti fix-xenarju politiku. Kellha l-ideat tagħha u kienet tiktibhom. U kienet fuq in-naħa l-oħra tal-logħba politika wkoll. Kienet titħallas biex tagħmel il-PR minn Anġlu Xuereb li ried jibni Golf Kors fl-għelieqi tar-Rabat u tikteb kontra l-Moviment Graffitti fl-istess ħin, u kienet tagħmel il-PR ta’ Bertu Mizzi li l-kumpanija tiegħu kienet qed tarmi it-terrapin ta’ Tigne Point fil-baħar ta’ Tas-Sliema. Kienet fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar l-aktar kittieba moqrija fil-pajjiż kollu probabli biss wara Trevor Zahra. U l-blogg tagħha konna naqrawh u ġieli konna insibuh ta’ gost bħal meta kienet fetħet ġlieda kbira ma’ Consuelo Herrera li kienet magħha l-iskola; f’gost u gossip li kien jistimulana b’mod ekwivalenti b’kif Sgarbi kien joqgħod jikkummiedja u joffendi lil kulħadd fuq it-televiżjoni bl-intelliġenza kollha tiegħu. B’daqshekk ma jfissirx li naqbel ma’ Sgarbi jew ma’ Daphne. Fuq dan kollu ma kien hemm xejn spettakolari u kienu affarijiet normali għall-aħħar f’xenarju politiku liberali: offensivi jew mhux. L-attakki li sofriet Daphne mill-faxxisti bħal meta ħarqulha il-bieb tad-dar soffrejnihom aħna wkoll dak iż-żmien. Kien hemm tassew ukoll ħafna rabja eċessiva għal Daphne u din nammetti tirrefletti ħażin fuq il-Partit Laburista, għalkemm minn naħa l-oħra, il-Partitarji Laburista qatt ħadd ma ried jifimhom l’anqas u dejjem ġew ikkundannati ta’ dak li huma milli ta’ dak li jkunu qed jaħsbu fuq dik il-ħaġa speċifika jew mill-attitudni tagħhom.

Daphne bidlet l-istil u t-ton u s-serjeta tal-kitba tagħha bil-gvern ta’ Joseph Muscat. Użat ir-rizorsi u n-networks li akkumulat tul ħajjitha biex tiġġieled kontra gvern li hi kienet taħsbu korrot u fuq hekk kellha raġun biex tbiegħ. U anke għalkemm il-konvinzjoni tagħha setgħat kienet politika, teknikament spiċċa biex xorta kellha raġun fuq il-fatt li l-gvern ta’ Muscat kien korrott, imma mhux hekk biss. Spiċċat maqtula talli kixfet il-korruzzjoni tal-gvern u l-kollaboraturi tiegħu. Minn mewtha irnexxiela tgħeleb lil Muscat u ġġiegħlu jirreżenja – xi ħaġa li ħadd ma seta’ jagħmel qabel. Mara waħidha b’laptop bidlet l-istorja tal-pajjiż b’mod fenomenali u għalhekk biss ħaqqha monument. U fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar huwa veru li storikament huwa iktar importanti dak li għamet Daphne f’dawn l-aħħar ħames snin milli fis-snin ta’ qabel. Żgur, iżda li l-monument u l-wirt ta’ Daphne ser ikun diffiċli li jiġi aċċettat minn sezzjoni wiesa tal-pubbliku jekk il-proponenti tiegħu jkunu nies bħal Manuel Delia jew Jason Azzopardi. In-Nazzjonalisti qatt m’huma ser inaddfu darhom u ħafna minnhom qed jagħmlu użu mill-wirt tagħha biex huma wkoll jgħattu xturhom. Fl-istess ħin, jekk il-Partit Laburista ma jitnaddafx waħda sew mill-elementi kriminali, għandu ċ-ċans li jsir irrelevanti daqs il-Partit Nazzjonalista.

Post-Muscat

Fil-laqgħa infami tal-kabinett tat-28 ta’ Novembru li baqgħat għaddejja sas-sagħtejn ta’ filgħodu, Muscat intalab biex jirreżenja minnufih. Muscat kellu l-maġġoranza tal-ministri miegħu u b’hekk seta’ jibqa’ f’kontroll. Muscat dejjem baqa’ juża l-partitarji Laburisti favurih u kull min jiksiriha minn miegħu seta’ jitlef il-fiduċja tal-membri tal-Partit Laburista, li wara kollox ħafna minnhom kienu għadhom iħobbuh. Il-ġlieda għal xi wħud bħali kienet ċara f’dak il-mument, imma aħna fuq ix-xellug m’aħniex lesti li naqsmu din il-ġlieda ma’ bażużli ta’ Austin Gatt, ovjament. Il-pajjiż u l-istituzzjonijiet ma bdewx jiġu maħkuma mill-klikek kriminali għall-ewwel darba taħt Muscat. Il-bikja ta’ Godfrey Farrugia għand in-Nazzjonalisti hekk wara kif irriżenja mill-Partit Laburista kienet att ta’ flaġellant – l-agħar ħaġa li wieħed jista’ jagħmel fi stat ta’ kriżi. Jekk ma tgħallimna xejn konna, mill-injoranza tagħna, tgħallimna allinqas li x’jiġri x’jiġri, dejjem hemm ġurnata oħra meta nistgħu niġġieldu.

F’dak il-jum infami tal-laqgħa tal-kabinett kien qisu li l-gvern kien maħkum mill-mafja. Yorgen Fenech jidħol f’korruzzjoni ma’ Keith Schembri u Konrad Mizzi bil-patroċinju ta’ Joseph Muscat, Daphne tkun ser tikxifhom u eventwalment tinqatel b’karozza bomba. Hemm mod ieħor iktar sempliċi kif tpoġġiha għala l-pożizzjoni ta’ Muscat ma kienetx tenibbli? Muscat ġie jitnejjek mill-kriżi li kien għaddej minnha l-pajjiż u kien iktar moħħu biex jgħatti xturu u dak ta’ sieħbu Schembri. Grupp ta’ ministri baqgħu jaqbżu għal Muscat sal-aħħaru insistew miegħu biex jibqa’. Muscat kellu l-maġġoranza kemm ġewwa u kemm barra.Xi wħud minn dawn il-ministri li qabżu għal Muscat, illum għadhom ministri imma b’portafoll differenti.

Muscat kien jaf li l-pożizzjoni tiegħu ma kienetx tenibbli imma hu kien għad kellu wisq influwenza fil-partit. Eventwalment, kull min kellu joħroġ għall-mexxej seta’ biss isir mexxej jekk lil Muscat jagħtieh eżitu onorabbli – kif fil-fatt għamel Robert Abela – u dak huwa il-vera patt mxajtan. Kien impossibbli issir mexxej tal-Partit jekk ma tkunx f’termini tajba ma’ Muscat – kieku l-membri ma kienux jivvutawlek. Imma dan konna aċċettajnieh aħna wkoll, li appoġġjajna lil Fearne għat-tellieqa – allinqas aħna konna qed inkunu iktar onesti fil-ħsieb u l-motivazzjonijiet tagħna. B’hekk Muscat baqa’ mexxej u Prim Ministru sakemm issir elezzjoni mill-Partit Laburista għall-mexxej ġdid.

Il-fatt li kienet bdiet it-tellieqa għall-mexxej tal-Partit u Miriam Dalli ma ħarġitx għat-tellieqa kien xi ftit ta’ soljiev għalina li bdejna nappoġġjaw lil Fearne. Dalli kienet il-favorita ta’ Muscat minn xi żmien ilu u Muscat kien jipprova jinvolviha ħafna fix-xogħol tal-Partit biex ikompli jgħolli l-istatura tagħha. Il-fatt li ħareġ Robert Abela għat-tellieqa kien soljiev ukoll. Konna niftakru poll tal-MaltaToday ta’ xi sena ilu fejn lil Abela kien tpoġġa l-aħħar wieħed b’diġitu wieħed biss. F’Fearne rajna tama ġdida għall-pajjiż u bidu ġdid. Wegħdna li ħa jnaddaf il-ħmieġ u l-korruzzjoni u jsolvi l-kriżi nazzjonali fi żmien mitt jum. Wiegħed ukoll li kien ser ibiddel l-Avukat Ġenerali għalkemm m’għamilx hekk b’mod espliċitu u pubblikament. Apparti minn hekk wiegħed numru ta’ riformi soċjali, u kien Laburist li ġej mit-tradizzjoni soċjalista taż-Żgħażagħ Laburisti.

Kien hemm aspett importanti ieħor għala jien appoġġjat lil Fearne. Kien ċar diġa dak iż-żmien li r-reċessjoni ekonomika fid-dinja kienet reġa ġejja, apparti li kien ovju wkoll li Malta ma setgħatx tibqa’ tikber bis-6% u dan in-numru kien ser jerġa jibda jonqos eventwalment. F’reċessjoni ekonomika globali, Malta tintlaqat ħażin ħafna u b’hekk żgur u mhux forsi li min kien ried isir il-Prim Ministru ġdid kellu bżonn perspettiva u għarfien profond ta’ kif taħdem id-dinja. Dalgħodu, l-Federal Reserve ħarġet miżuri ta’ emerġenza fejn fost dawn il-miżuri niżlet ir-rati ta’ interessi għal żero fil-mija u ħarġet $700 Biljun f’għajnuna kwantitattiva biex l-infieq pubbliku tal-Gvern Amerikan jibqa’ għaddej bir-rata tiegħu u u s-suq ma jikkrollax. Il-problemi enormi u strutturali fl-ekonomija dinjija bħalissa qegħdin jiġu solvuti billi xi ħadd fil-bank ċentrali jagħfas buttuna u jżid il-volum tal-flus fis-sistema monetarja. Minkejja dawn il-flus kollha li jiġu ippumpjati fis-sistema monetarja, miljuni ta’ nies jibqgħu bla dar u bla aċċess lejn servizzi bażiċi bħas-saħħa. Qisna qegħdin nerġgħu ngħixu l-kriżi tal-2008-2009 mill-ġdid. Bħalissa għaddejjin minn żminijiet ekonomiċi turbulenti u saħansitra storiċi. Malta, pajjiż żgħir u bla riżorsi naturali, trid tara kif ħa tillapazza x-xogħol f’din is-sistema kapitalista globalizzata ultra-finanzjarja.

B’hekk tistgħu timmaġinaw xi ħsibt hekk kif Robert Abela kien bis-serjeta qed jipprepara biex itellaq għat-tmexxija tal-Partit Laburista. Abela kien persuna li dejjem baqa’ fil-kwinti. Qatt ma’ ħa r-riskji li ħadna sħabi u jien biex nipprovaw immexxu, anke fi gvern korrott, aġenda progressiva. Abela kellu karriera komda b’konsulenzi mill-MEPA u mexa ‘il quddiem bil-biljett ta’ missieru, George; bħal aristokrazija politika. Qisu xi ħadd li daħal mill-filati tal-kriżi politika inkiss inkiss jew bniedem prużuntuż li mexa mar-riħ bħal windsurfer li qed jilħaq l-ambizzjonijiet tiegħu. B’sorpriża enormi,Abela jirnexxielu jagħmel rebħa enormi fuq Fearne u dan probabli wara li Fearne kien għamel numru ta’ gaffes kbar fejn wera nuqqas ta’ gravitas u anke arroganza fid-diskorsi tiegħu. Jien ġejt demoralizzat. Uħud minn sħabi żgħażagħ fil-partit tal-ġenerazzjoni tiegħi u jien komplejna niġu demoralizzati wara kollega tal-ġenerazzjoni tagħna, Randolph Debattista, tkeċċa minn CEO tal-Partit biex ġie mibdul minn persuna qrib ta’ Abela.

Probabli, l-ikbar problema fuq Abela kienet u għadha din: ma nafx x’jemmen u x’jaħseb u xi jrid jagħmel u jien naħseb li r-raġuni hi li għax l’anqas hu stess ma jaf. Forsi inkun provat ħażin u tajjeb għal pajjiżna kieku. Tajjeb ferm, li meta tqis li teżiżti evidenza ċara li Mizzi u Schembri kienu korrotti, dawn jittellgħu l-qorti. Tajjeb ferm jekk l-assi ta’ Fenech jiġu friżati u jibdew jinħarġu wkoll akkużi fuq artikli ta’ terroriżmu ladarba dan seta kien involut f’att ta’ korruzzjoni u uża l-assi tiegħu biex jikkommetti dak li probabli huwa att terroristiku. Tajjeb ferm ukoll jekk l-Economic Crimes Unit jibda jagħmel xogħlu. Tajjeb ferm ukoll li l-Ministru tal-Finanzi Edward Scicluna jibda jammetti li hemm problemi serji fuq dawn il-kwistjonijiet u fuq id-danni ekonomiċi li jħalli r-rent-seeking. Tajjeb ukoll jekk Joseph Muscat jiġi investigat għax ħadd m’hu iktar għola mil-liġi, imma tajjeb ukoll li jiġu investigati anke skandli ta’ korruzzjoni li huma involuti fihom Ministri Nazzjonalisti għax fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar mhux Schembri u Mizzi biss kellhom kontijiet moħbija barra minn Malta imma anke Austin Gatt, Ninu Żammit, John Dalli u Michael Falzon. Kull min jgħidlek li l-pulizija jagħmlu xogħolhom mingħajr indħil politiku u ma nistax jikkumenta qed jigdeb u probabli qed jigdeb b’intenzjoni malizzjuża. L-evidenza tal-korruzzjoni ta’ Schembri u Mizzi hija ċara u m’hemx għalfejn tkun ġenju. Li l-pulizija ma aġixxewx meta kellhom jaġixxu huwa fatt loġiku – m’hemmx ma’ fejn iddur magħha.

Il-kunċett ta’ Hannah Arendt: il-banalita tal-ħażen jispjega perfettament is-sitwazzjoni politika ta’ dawk il-ministri li fit-28 ta’ Novembru baqgħu jappoġġjaw u jaqbżu għal Muscat. In-Nazzizti li ġew prosekutati fil-każijiet ta’ Nuremburgu iddefendew lilhom infushom billi qalu li huma kienu biss qed jobdu l-ordinijiet minn ta’ fuqhom – il-banalita tal-ħażen – meta inti ma tieħux responsabbilta tal-azzjonijiet tiegħek għas-sempliċi raġuni li tiċħad lilek innifsek l-aġenzija u l-possibbilta li tiddeċiedi għalik innifsek. Ovjament, il-lagħqiżmu u s-serviliżmu mhuwiex skuża għall-atti kriminali. Fuq skala żgħira u lokali, din hija l-istess skuża li Michael Falzon (tal-Labour) ġab meta lil Mark Gafferna tah palazz fil-Belt b’xejn – jien ma kont qed nagħmel xejn ħażin, jien sempliċiment kont qed nimxi mas-sistema u dak li talbu minni dawk ta’ fuqi. Illum, dan Michael Falzon huwa ministru (b’portafoll differenti). U hija wkoll il-banalita tal-ħażen li qed titkellem kull darba li xi ħadd iġib skuża għala Schembri u Mizzi qatt ma ġew imressqa il-qorti fuq korruzzjoni.

Lli kieku il-pulizija qed tagħmel xogħolha mhux ilha li resqet parata ta’ politiċi l-qorti. Nafu li l-pulizija mhux tagħmel xogħolha għax għadha qatt ma saret ġustizzja fuq korruzzjoni politika. Iva, vera, hemm min fil-pulizija jagħmel xogħlu sew bħalissa. Iva, vera, hemm min b’mod ġenwin qed jaħdem ħafna fuq il-każ ta’ Daphne u jrid jsolvieh. Hemm min ukoll fil-pulizija li apparti li għandu edukazzjoni għolja u integrita kbira, ġie skarzat minflok ġie mgħoti l-possibbilta li jaħdem u jikkontribbwixxi għall-korp tal-pulizija u s-soċjeta. U r-revelazzjonijiet ta’ Silvio Valletta jiftħu l-probabilta li l-pulizija hija infiltrata b’mod profond mill-mafja u organizazzjonijiet kriminali.

Għadu jibda. Tieh ċans. Imma mill-ġdid. Il-problema hi li s’issa għadna m’għandna l-ebda idea vaga ta’ x’jemmen u x’jaħseb Abela. L-unika ħaġa li jien ċert fuq Abela huwa li hu makkak, imma anke b’dan it-talent qed jiżbalja hekk kif bil-mod ippronuċja ruħhu fuq il-krizi tal-pandemija tas-C-19. Meta Abela kien qal li s-C19 mhuwiex il-pesta u m’għandnix għalfejn ninkwetaw u lanqas inħassru l-vjaġġi bejn Malta u l-Italja, l-għada kellu jkun ftit iktar umli u jisma mill-esperti. Reċentament Abela ta x’jifhem li beda jiġġieled kontra l-eventwalita li l-esperti jitolbuh jagħlaq il-pajjiż meta qal li għeluq bħal dan ikun agħar mill-pandemija innifsha. Abela qed jagħti l-impressjoni li għadu mhux jifhem il-kuntest tal-irwol tiegħu ta’ kap ta’ gvern u għadu qed jirraġuna bil-mentalita ta’ sindku.

Ovjament, jien ma nifhimx fl-epidemiji. Nifhem iżda, b’mod emperiku u sempliċi li l-epidemija qed tinferex b’mod esponenzjali u tista’ tkun ta’ periklu għal min hu fiżikament vulnerabbli. Ma nafx kif għandu jiġi mrażżan dan il-virus, u inħalli f’ifdejn l-esperti biex jagħtu s-soluzzjonijiet, imma naf ukoll li tkun irresponsabbilta kbira li nieħdu riskji fuq xi ħaġa li ma nafux eżatt x’inhi u ma nafux kif ħa tiżvilluppa. B’kif ippronuċja ruħu Abela fuq il-kriżi tal-epidemija qisu qiegħed jagħti x’jifhem li lest jieħu riskji għax mhux jifhem eżattament l-estent tal-periklu s-sitwazzjoni. U dawn kienu eżattament l-preokuppazzjonijiet tiegħi għala Abela m’għandux isir il-Prim Ministru il-ġdid għax m’għandux il-profondita biex jifhem il-komplessita tal-problemi enormi li potenzjalment nistgħu niffaċċjaw f’dawn iż-żminijiet turbulenti. Jien nippretendi li jekk hemm bżonn isir għeluq tal-pajjiż, dan l-għeluq għandu jsir u l-kap tal-gvern għandu jieħu l-aħjar soluzzjoni għal ġid tal-pajjiż, irrespettivmanet kif ser jidher politikament minn għajnejn il-votant. Forsi qed nitlob wisq.

Forsi m’għandix raġun ukoll, u forsi Robert Abela eventwalment jagħmel colpo di scena memorabbli u storiku: jkisser ir-rent-seeking u l-korruzzjoni, jitfa lil Keith Schembri l-ħabs (jew kif inħobbu ngħidu bir-realpolitik, “nagħmlu riformi biex inħallu l-pulizija jagħmlu xogħolhom sew”), jagħmel bidliet strutturali kbar fl-ekonomija, jimplimenta miżuri soċjali u jgħolli l-batut, u jbiddel lil pajjiżna f’soċjeta ultra-moderna fejn l-ambjent hu konservat, is-servizz pubbliku huwa eċċezzjonali, l-ispazji miftuħa jiżdiedu u l-kultura, l-arti u l-letteratura tikber u titkattar u tesporta b’mod profuż. Forsi fl-aħħar minn l-aħħar min jien biex nagħmel dawn il-ġudizzji kollha? Forsi Abela jaf jippompja ġid u ġustizzja fil-pajjiż daqskemm ippompja muskoli fl-eta ta’ żgħożitu – tant l-aħjar.

Ma tantx jien ottimist sa barra, imma l-ġlieda tissokta. Jekk ma jkunx Robert Abela li jmexxi l-bidliet u r-riformi neċessarji fil-pajjiz, jista’ jkun xi ħaddieħor. Il-bidliet kbar li jridu jsiru fil-pajjiż ma jistgħux jistennew ħafna l’anqas. Litteralment qed imutu n-nies bit-taħwid u l-impunita li hawn fil-pajjiż. Ġimgħa u nofs ilhu mietet mara mirduma fid-dar tagħha stess hekk kif ħdejha kien qed isir tħaffir b’makkinarju kbir. Sandro Chetcuti u l-lobby tal-kostruzzjoni li xtraw il-Partit Laburista bid-donazzjonijiet tagħhom qed jagħmlu ħerba mill-pajjiz u mis-soċjeta. Il-gvern qas hu nieqes mir-rent-seekers u l-merċenarji. Robert Musumeci, li kiteb l-poliitika tal-Awtorita tal-Ippjanar, liema politika imbagħad gawda minnha personalment għadu jikteb il-liġijiet għall-gvern. B’mod assolutament assurd, Robert Musumeci, dan l-aħħar kien involut fil-liġi tad-dekriminalizazzjoni tal-prostituzzjoni. Ħlief għall-fatt li Robert Musumeci kien il-qaħba ta’ Joseph Muscat, ma nafux x’għandu x’jaqsam mal-prostituzzjoni u xi kwalifiki u relazzjoni għandu ma’ dan is-suġġett.

Jiġifieri xiż-żikk qed jiġri, fil-verita ma nafx biċ-ċertezza, imma naf biċ-ċert li s-sitwazzjoni mhux tajba – mhux tajba mill-aspett ta’ gvern, istituzzjonijiet, ekonomija u ġustizzja. Is-sitwazzjoni globali mhux tajba l’anqas. Hemm ċans li negħlbu dawn l-isfidi? Ovjament, iva imma l-affarijiet qatt ma kienu faċli.

The Chairman’s Message

2019 was an eventful and challenging year in which the Council kept growing, receiving as much as an 80 per cent increase in its public funding for its recurrent expenditure over the previous year totalling €910,000, and an additional €600,000 in capital funds for the restoration of its newly acquired government premises in 8, Old Mint Street, Valletta.

We closed the year with a national crisis of historic proportions, which has deeply affected all aspects of the Maltese society, including its economy – and the book industry. The National Book Council cancelled its National Book Prize ceremony at the Auberge de Castille, the seat of the Prime Minister, where the ceremony has been traditionally held. The decision was made after officials in the Office of the Prime Minister were implicated in the investigations of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The decision by the Book Council was unanimously supported by the book industry stakeholders, despite its potential negative economic repercussions. The National Book Council was  also the first public entity to formally celebrate the legacy of Daphne Caruana Galizia in an event at the 2018 Malta Book Festival.

One of our main aims is to increase the industry stakeholders’ revenue, mainly when it comes to publishers and authors. Last year’s substantial increase in funding allowed us to further invest in marketing and audiovisual productions, as well as to increase the value of the National Book Prize prize money – which will have been disbursed by the time this report is published. The execution of our strategy is progressing very well thanks to sustained public funding support. Admittedly, I had strong qualms about some decisions made by newly-appointed bureaucrats in the finance department of the Ministry of Education. My qualms were made public in order to strengthen the autonomous position of the National Book Council. I can confirm that the disagreements have since been resolved.

For a few years now, the book industry has been struggling with a drop in sales in brick-and-mortar stores. The increasing sales at the Malta Book Festival along with purchases of books for schools made by the Literacy Agency have been offsetting these losses.

The Malta Book Festival has sustained an exponential increase in book sales ever since 2014. Sales during the 2019 Malta Book Festival matched those in 2018, partly due to reduced exhibition space in Sacra Infermeria Hall as a result of emergency restoration works. Restrictions notwithstanding, we adjusted by utilizing the MCC Republic Hall (that has a capacity of about 1,200 people) for the main school shows. We also organized shorter visits as compared to previous years.

The Malta Book Festival may face further challenges in the next few years. The Republic Hall, which usually hosts big theatrical shows, will be taken up by Cirque de Soleil – an event publicly subsidised by the former Ministry for Tourism, under the direction of the now disgraced Minister Konrad Mizzi. Our position is very clear on this matter. The National Book Council has been the most regular and consistent client to the MCC along the years, even during times of severe recession. For this reason, we expect the MCC to remain loyal to the National Book Council and provide access to all halls at the MCC during the first two weeks of November, during which the Malta Book Festival has traditionally taken place. The Malta Book Festival is an event of national importance and the government should support it further by enacting a subsidiary legislation to allow for these dates to be permanently booked on an exclusive basis. These particular dates – right after the mid-term school holidays – have been set following many years of market analysis. Our aim is to keep them secure on a permanent basis. We also have informal agreement with Żigużajg, in order not to clash with their shows on the same dates.

2019 was increasingly busy for us in terms of our legislative and policy work. For the first time ever, we have convened a National Writers’ Congress and presented a charter of authors’ rights which was unanimously approved by at the congress. During the writers’ congress we have promised publishers to introduce tax-incentives so as to incentivize royalty payments. Our promise is in the process of being fulfilled: the legislation for the tax-incentives has been drafted and we are awaiting its publication by the Ministry of Finance.

The National Book Council has also been trusted by the government to redraft Malta’s copyright laws to bring them into line with the recent European Union Directive on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market. This EU directive will significantly impact on the book industry, and it is in our interest to ensure that the transposition of the Directive is beneficial to our industry. There is already an informal agreement between publishers and the Ministry of Education over the Education Exception, as brokered by the National Book Council, and the agreement between both parties and the National Book Council is set to be signed in 2020.

In 2019 the National Book Council has also received the first capital allocation to restore its newly acquired premises in Valletta, the 16th century baroque building. We have successfully prevented the further deterioration of the building (the timber beams supporting the upper roof were giving way and as a consequence stone slabs were collapsing on the building). The restoration of the roof is progressing quickly and is due be completed by early 2020. One of our biggest constraints with the project is a bureaucratic lag in the Contracts Department and the Procurement Department of the Ministry. We are also challenged by the fact that two small basement level rooms of the building are still to be transferred to the Ministry of Education. The Lands Department and the Housing Authority are currently coordinating this process (an old lady lives in one of those rooms is to be provided with alternative accommodation). We hope that the said departments keep cooperating with us to ensure that the process is finalized. Our ultimate aim is to turn the palazzo into a new point of sale with a culturally-oriented bookshop, a literature museum and the National Book Council offices: a functional book centre in a beautiful historical building.

We have retained our momentum in other operations such as literary exports and translation. Maltese literature is ever-spreading across borders. Lou Drofenik has been one of the most promoted authors in 2019, together with other National Book Prize winning authors. Further public funding will enable us to expand our export work, a field where we are experiencing ever increasing success. Additionally, for the first-time ever, the National Book Council has commissioned its first-ever feature film based on a prize-winning Maltese novel.

I am also proud to say that in 2019 I have consolidated the final stages in building a strong team of employees and associates who are highly skilled and can guarantee continuity and growth. Further investment in human resources will be made in 2020 so as to keep consolidating and developing our team.

Looking back from 2013, I am incredibly proud we have come this far. The National Book Council has grown from a minuscule entity with hardly any funds, into a strong and influential organization which sustains the book industry, and protects the interests of publishers and authors. We will keep implementing our vision by expanding our stakeholders’ revenue opportunities through our public projects, and by ensuring that the book industry keeps growing and sustaining itself. We look forward to 2020. We will be working on the required and significant legal reforms, to keep sustaining growth  for the book industry despite the challenges we face.

Annual Report for 2019

The National Book Council regrets to announce that the 2019 National Book Prize Ceremony planned for 9 December cannot be held under the heavy shadow of the Office of the Prime Minister having been implicated in the investigation of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Whilst this does not constitute an endorsement of the views held by Daphne Caruana Galizia, her role as a writer and harbinger of momentous political changes must be acknowledged.

These times are testament to the strength of the written word; the celebration of literature is given a stronger voice if we participate in the historical events unfolding nationally. The current national crisis deserves our undivided attention.

As a historian specialising in the British and post-War period in Malta, I have written extensively on the 1960s and the Church-Labour conflict.

However, when Archbishop Charles Scicluna asked for forgiveness for burying Labour stalwarts in unconsecrated ground, I could not be as pretentious as to comment. It is the Labourites who experienced the 1960s who are mostly entitled to react and we should wait for their own reaction before we comment. Scicluna’s comments were received by a barrage of commentary, most of which was welcoming and most of it superfluous; but some Labourites who lived those days did actually welcome his comments. Soon later, the Archbishop, also with reference to the Church-Labour conflict of the 1960s, claimed that “he would give his life to heal the wounds of the past”.

When Archbishop Joseph Mercieca made his apology it was made conditional on the basis that both parties would forgive each other. Hardly anyone from Labourites of the 1960s accepted this apology – they simply ignored it.

Admittedly, this time round, Scicluna’s message seems to have been more welcomed by those who have lived those times. However, if I would be pretentious to say or suggest as to how Scicluna’s comments should be received, I would do an equal disservice if, as a historian, I would fail to mention the facts of the historical situation or the fact that many Labourites of the 1960s are still yet to comment (or have refused to do so).

As a historian I am very uncertain on what Archbishop Scicluna wants to give his life for. If he has apologised for burying Labour stalwarts like Ġuże Ellul-Mercer in unconsecrated ground, then that was very clear, but it should also be pointed out that this was only a very small part of the wide and systematic war waged by the Church against Labour and Labourites during that time. When in March 1962 Archbishop Michael Gonzi interdicted the Labour executive committee and later on released the infamous pastoral arguing that Labourites were not good Catholics, a declaration of holy war was made which had divided society even further and pushed it closer into civil strife. The mortal sin was not publicly declared but it was clearly implied, and priests applied it effectively in their duties: Labour party members and activists were barred from making full use of the Church’s sacramental services and those who voted for Labour ‘were going to hell’.

Understanding Gonzi’s power

History has not been just to the Labourites of those times and the exalted biographies of Michael Gonzi, badly researched and horribly written with hagiographic intent, have obfuscated his persona and his history with lies and pseudo-historiography. Obviously, these hagiographies ignore the historical context and significance of his actions which his fans obfuscate with endearing adjectives such as “strong” and “steadfast”. For to understand Gonzi is to understand what happened during that decade, and that also means to understand the main protagonists – the people who suffered the brunt of the Church’s hostility and those who militated in its favour.

First of all, we have to understand that wherever you came from, back then, the Church was an integral part of your life, although it had much more influence and power in the rural areas which had remained insular and deeply conservative compared to the harbour area. Losing recognition by the Church meant being ostracised from the rest of society: a society where the parish priest had to write your reference letter to be accepted for a job, where he consulted you on your sexuality, psychology, even financial affairs, many a times making sure you would well compensate the Church upon your death, and of course… provided you with political direction.

The education system was run by clerics and their lackeys; parish priests could refer you to the mental health hospital at will!
Overcoming this overwhelming social institution took a Labour Party with its 51,000 “soldiers of steel” (suldati tal-azzar) who voted for it despite being condemned and vilified.

And it was a wild animal, yet a much educated genius who could lead Labour in these insurmountable odds: Dom Mintoff, who would counter-preach to his masses, that they did not need to give their inheritance to the Church for them to ascend to heaven. Mintoff did not just do politics. He educated the masses against a constant backdrop of brainwashing by the clerics.

Psychological warfare

The tangible results of Gonzi’s war were very immediate.

Families were torn apart. Labour activists were ostracised from social organisations. Children of Labour activists and known sympathisers were bullied at school and in the villages. Priests wielded more power and Labour youths’ chances of finding jobs decreased even further, exacerbating their already miserable economic situation. This was the bleak backdrop of Independence: in the 1960s as much as 60,000 men and women had left the islands in search for work – back then comprising as much as 20% of the population.

And here lies a very important reason why going to hell was actually much worse than it sounds today. For the oppressed and hard-working Catholic-Labourite, mired in a dire economic scenario, who struggled to make ends meet, the Catholic religion could provide some hope and light at the end of the tunnel – death at least promised a good afterlife. Now, all the hard work and lifetime devotion to Church and God mattered no longer as the Labourite was bound for damnation anyway. In other words, Gonzi took away from the most vulnerable the most important religious element of Christianity: the resilient and spiritual hope that they could one day be saved. Gonzi sent these people to hell.

The Church’s psychological warfare, waged in a society which could barely feed itself, affected the fundamental social and economic relationships of the working masses, and the most vulnerable were most affected.

So when pseudo-intellectuals from Tal-Qroqq preach their nauseating, elitist diatribes on the affliction of tribalism in our society, they should pause and read a history book to at least understand the fundamental class-consciousness inherent in the historical struggles which have developed throughout history and formed the society we live in today. Let me explain it simply to the publicly-paid, pseudo-intellectuals out there who patronise Labour supporters with their anthropological bullshit: Labour does not have a siege mentality because of Mediterranean tribalism. Labour and the working class was besieged in history by various forces: the professional and commercial elite, British imperialism, the Church with its army of devoted supporters (mostly village dwellers who had never read anything or heard any other teaching or doctrine other than what was prescribed by the clerics).

The organic and cooperative familial model of the Labour Party – which includes tens of thousands of members who consider the party as their main social and public institution – is misinterpreted as “tribalism”. But in reality it is a communal structure developed by historical exigencies. Labour Party members support each other because history thought them so. Genuine socialists should not shun this model as “tribalism”, but work to conserve it against rent-seeking and other abuses.

Gonzi’s political war

On the other hand, the political ramifications of Gonzi’s war dealt a critical blow to Labour’s chances of governing the country. Practically, a large section of society rose up to militate against the Labour Party and a violent confrontation between two large sections of society, the Labourites and the Church’s devotees, was brewing.

Labour’s meeting in Gozo in 1961 was spared from barricades after the local police knew in advance what the Gozitans’ intentions really were, but the Church’s devotees still made sure to make the meeting unsuccessful by drowning out Mintoff’s voice with Church bells and loud protests.

When the same kind of bell-ringing was repeated a year later in the mainland during a Labour meeting in Luqa, Labourites were confident enough to start a riot. It was only then that the British governor, Guy Grantham, knowing very well that the situation could escalate into bloody violence, approached Gonzi with a strong insistence to end the bell-ringing and tone down his war. Gonzi complied because he had no other choice – the British were his guarantors and allies in case Mintoff took power. Labour eventually lost the elections that year and the dirty work had already been done anyway.

The Church-Labour conflict abated thanks to the British’s insistence with the bishops not to escalate tensions in society. The British considered Malta a strategic base and could not afford to have its strategic use compromised by internal strife and conflict. Eventually, Gonzi laid down his arms in 1969 and declared peace with Labour following pressure from the Vatican as well, and after a very strongly-fought election in 1971, Labour won the election by just around 5,000 votes.

Yet, Gonzi did not lose faith that somehow he could have some form of guarantee and protection against the rising tide of socialist emancipation. In 1972, while Mintoff was negotiating a new defence agreement with Britain, Gonzi was busy holding discussions with Gino Birindelli in Rome, the previous NATO commander who was immediately dismissed by Mintoff as a ‘persona non grata’ in the first 24 hours of the re-elected Labour government.

We may as of now, have no excerpts of the talks held between Gonzi and Birindelli, but we can surmise such discussions did not dwell on peaceful intentions. Birindelli had by then joined the Italian fascists (he was president of Almirante’s far-right Italian Social Movement from 1972-1973, serving as an MP up to 1976) and was also a member of the Italian masonic lodge P2, which was involved in conspiring with Latin American military officers in their dirty wars against leftists and dissidents, and implicated in the 1980 Bologna massacre when a fascist terror group bombed the central Bologna train station and killed 85 people.

It would be naive to think that Mintoff’s friendly antics with Gonzi after the peace – the exchange of flowers, the blessings and the letters – were anything more than formal politics.

Peace was made only because the working-class movement had won and the Church had lost. And Gonzi did not start the war to lose it, but when he did lose he had no other choice but to play along. When he was desperately scouring for support in Rome in the early 1970s Gonzi was as vulnerable as ever. Mintoff on the other hand stuck with the accords of the peace made with Church: introducing civil marriage but not divorce. Mintoff threaded cautiously and let sleeping dogs lie. An astute statesman, Mintoff knew there was yet more time for the next secular leap forward, but it was a matter of waiting until society began emancipating itself economically and through education.

Scicluna’s motives

If Archbishop Charles Scicluna has ulterior motives for his recent comments, or is actually genuine and honest on what he is saying, one is still yet to see.

I write this because it is very hard to trust Archbishop Scicluna, given the history of how he entered his office. Scicluna was forced to take up the Archbishopric after Paul Cremona was forced to resign in a climate dominated by the influence of a conservative faction of the Church, led by ‘father Beirut’ Joe Borg. Cremona served his role purely as a spiritual leader and refused to get involved in politics, something which infuriated the conservative clerics who wanted a militant archbishop to take on Labour’s influence. Scicluna complied with a political campaign against Labour and its allies, alienating even more Labourites from the Church. He failed to help Simon Busuttil make headway in the 2017 elections and the conservative clerics were left with egg on their face.

After the last election, Scicluna’s political commentary decreased substantially.

Archbishop Michael Gonzi should not be rehabilitated in history as a legitimate historical figure who contributed to the progress and development of society – he did not. Gonzi was a historical pariah and an educated thug who wielded his hostile power without any consideration to those he affected.

Any demand for forgiveness which comes with an asymmetric contract of conditions, such as the rehabilitation of Michael Gonzi, is not a genuine demand for forgiveness at all, but a deceitful way to cloak the Church’s historical abuses and minimise their impact in history.

If forgiveness comes with an openness to history, then it could be more genuine. Scicluna is not an idiot. He is an intellectual and a respected functionary of the Pope. If Scicluna intends to heal the wounds of the past, he could do so much better by avoiding hyperbolic statements such as “I’d give my life to this” and by simply acknowledging history itself.

As a historian, I am still to be convinced of Scicluna’s intentions.

https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/98701/apologies_or_deceit_scicluna_and_the_deep_wounds_of_the_1960s_interdett?fbclid=IwAR121hlHcAg1M3jCrpmA7nc5tyQP-TVXF4TSYJ7r7LUtZj_dF4wPBgCcyok#.XdTtEd-YUqp

Knocking Down Muscat’s Post-Fordist Equilibrium

Joseph Muscat’s economic strategy pulled Malta out of recession, yet Muscat’s post-Fordist model has also brought new economic and social problems which will intensify in a short and long-term horizon if they are not addressed. In order to address these new economic and social problems a new economic strategy is needed especially in the context of an international economic and political landscape which is changing very rapidly and becoming increasingly volatile.

As explained in my previous article, Malta’s economy and its underlying problems from a fundamental viewpoint, the rapidly rising value of property has excessively outrun the rise of wages. As wages in 2018 have grown at an estimated of 20% from their 2013 levels, the value of property and rent has grown by up to more than 100% in the same time-frame. Speculation on property has not abated and building regulations including enforcement of the same regulations have been kept unchanged, allowing for the unperturbed and chaotic frenzy of construction to go on. During the last couple of weeks, several incidents took place where building contractors literally knocked down neighbouring dwellings sending their dwellers out into the streets. Government has reacted by halting all excavation works until new regulations are drawn up, yet new regulations are being drawn by the same people who lead us into this dire mess in the first place.

Robert Musumeci is government’s prime consultant on building and development regulations and reportedly made a killing from the same ODZ policy he helped design. Musumeci is an ex-Nationalist Party mayor who broke ranks from his party and today, in showing gratitude to the government which helped him become richer by providing him with the best possible conflict of interest in recent Maltese planning and development history, is often seen on television parroting propaganda for the government. Meanwhile, government still keeps on its payroll as a consultant, Sandro Chetcuti, a construction developer who represents the Malta Developers Association. One of the members of the MDA is Michael Falzon, a previous Nationalist minister who as minister had concealed his money from the public’s view in a bank account of a Swiss bank.

As also explained in my previously article cited above, the GDP component for the construction industry is by far much less significant compared to the GDP component for services such as igaming and tourism. Yet, government does not seem to intend to reduce the attention and importance it is giving to the local construction-lobby. Clearly, Muscat’s post-Fordist method with regards to the construction industry is failing ordinary people in every aspect, but this should have been obvious from the start. Finding a compromise between the social and economic interests of the community and the highly speculative local-construction industry is impossible when developers have free rein in their operations, dictate government policy and can effectively ruin people’s lives with impunity. As of now there is no balance, and the least government could do is to reformulate its policy and laws with experts who are not conflicted and have the interests of the community at heart, however this may be too late as we reach a near-crisis point on social and economic levels. Instead, a much more rigorous approach may now be needed, preferably a new economic model which would address the construction industry as part of larger and systematic framework based on a long-term time horizon in order to provide stability in the market.

Malta, like the rest of the Western world will be facing challenging times as the world heads to a recession, and the once the recession starts, the mostly affected industries will be those which are most highly speculative and most at risk. Malta’s construction industry will be the first to be bitten when the international economic scenario begins to get rougher, however this does not mean that property prices will tumble to pre-2013 levels. History can help us get an idea of what could happen. Every time Malta entered a recessionary period, such as in 1969, 1980 and 2008, property prices never tumbled, but real-wages did receive significant pressures downward with precarious work and underemployment increasing rapidly especially in 1969 and 2008. This means that there may be no light at the end of the tunnel for average-wage earning individuals when it comes to future property prices. The key to the issue may lie in supply and demand, unless direct controls on speculation are put in place.

Muscat’s economic policies may have been excellent at getting Malta out of its stagnant recessionary state, but times have already changed significantly since 2013 and Muscat’s post-Fordist model is becoming increasingly outdated in today’s economic and social challenges. As always, Malta needs to adapt to its economic surroundings and in doing so it needs to be innovative to get an edge over other countries. As of now, Malta’s tax laws have helped it earn its income by attracting foreign direct investment – this is what has always been the main key for Malta’s economic development. Malta does not have an industrial bourgeoisie and neither does it have an entrepreneurial class which invests its capital in long-term productive investments. Speculation in real estate remains king for local capital with the industrious entrepreneur being the exception rather than the rule. If all our economic sectors have as of now thrived and prospered with foreign capital, why not consider adding the foreign capital-investment factor in local real-estate as well? This should come with a new regulated framework as part of a holistic economic model.

One economic sector Malta has never been part of is investment banking. Government has as of now done the right thing by increasing its stake in local banks, but to what end? We should now take the opportunity to begin considering the creation of a Maltese investment bank by partnering with a foreign investment bank which would bring much needed capital to our economy for investment projects and additionally, affordable housing. A large affordable housing project backed by an investment bank with combined local and foreign capital can break the back the of the local construction-lobby regime. After all, this government has sold cheap land to several local magnates to build luxury-apartments. Instead, government could sell its land at even higher prices for large affordable housing projects. The projects would keep the construction industry going while at the same providing an amount of property stock to the extent of stabilising property prices on a long-term basis while allowing wages and salaries to grow.

Obviously, we have to get rid of the Musumecis and the Chetcutis and all the incompetent and greedy Nationalists who have jumped on Labour’s bandwagon simply for their own personal gain. We need to step up our game and realise that our future does not depend on the corrupt, toxic and the dumb-cowboy capital of the local property speculators. We have to overhaul our planning and building laws and have them written by independent experts, step-up enforcement and purge our planning institutions from incompetent and insalubrious directors and CEOs who have nothing to offer but their stupidity and their moral corruption. Meanwhile, we have to draw up a new economic plan and begin exploring the possibility of building our own investment bank which may be used as an economic power-house and a strategic asset for our social and economic development. The days of dumb-cowboy capital should end once for all.