This article was first published in Malta Today

Two weeks into this election campaign and I’ve already given up trying to keep count of all the proposals promising cash, free this and free that, to practically every sector.

Meanwhile, the uproar over the candidature of Omar Rababah, which has created so much panic, has continued. There is a tinge of hypocrisy, about the whole thing, because while it’s OK for Pete Buttigieg of Maltese descent to contest the US Presidential elections, the fact that someone who is half Maltese, half Syrian dares to run for a parliamentary seat is (according to some) completely unacceptable. Those objecting say this is not about his nationality, but his religion.  

According to certain quarters this one man, apparently, will not only be elected on his first try because there are “between 10 – 15k Muslim voters” to quote one commentator, but he will have enough influence over his fellow MPs to change the Constitution and turn all of us into Muslims. 

I’m not sure where these statistics came from, but to claim that thousands of Muslims have Maltese citizenship and hence voting rights is very far-fetched. It also presumes that all Muslims who can vote here are one homogenous group which shares the same political allegiance, the same nationality and that they all reside within the 6th and 7th electoral districts which Omar Rababah is contesting. 

The visceral reaction has exposed the level of abhorrence felt at grassroots level against the Islamic culture. I cannot help but draw parallels with the racism and anti-Muslim backlash which Zoharan Mamdini received when he was elected the Mayor of New York. When he was interviewed by Trevor Noah about the difficulties of being a Socialist in the United States (where this label is still synonymous with Communism), Mamdini quipped: “I’m a Muslim Socialist, so I am used to the bad PR.”   

From what I’ve read about his policies, Mamdini is truly a working class hero, advocating for affordable housing, universal childcare and increasing the minimum wage.  Surely, that should be more important than his religion.  Likewise, I would think it is more important to know what Rababah actually stands for and judge him on that, rather than his family tree which the Prime Minister was at such great pains to spell out.  

Judging from the online reaction, there is a groundswell of public opinion which is objecting to him being on the Labour Party ticket, so whether actively promoting Omar Rababah as one of their candidates will hurt the party remains to be seen.  Some have described it as a calculated risk to grab votes from that particular demographic, while others are vowing not to vote Labour as a protest against this decision.  I don’t claim to be psychic, but I am pretty sure that when it comes to voting day, those who are diehard Labour will still vote Labour, no matter how many Omars are on the ballot.  

In any case, logic would dictate that those who are upset because they do not want him to represent them, should just skip his name and not vote for him.   Of course, the immense coverage which Omar has been given precisely because of this controversy might also work in his favour and he could win the sympathy vote.

Tell me what you are going to do 

If we leave out all the promises from this campaign which will cost money (i.e. practically everything), from what I have seen there is scant attention being paid to tackle perhaps one of the country’s gravest problems. The wide-spread lack of enforcement and discipline everywhere you look.

A classic example was handed to us this week in a tragic incident where a delivery man had to have his leg amputated as a result of his injuries after a car slammed into him.  The charges against the reckless driver who ploughed into him read like a harrowing list of just how many laws one person can break at the same time:  He was drunk, driving a cab with no license, no insurance, no permit for a Y plate and giving the police the wrong details. He is also unemployed with no fixed address and waiting for asylum status. 

It reflects a shocking catalogue of shortcomings and a dereliction of duty by several departments and authorities – at least that’s how it appears to the lay observer.  How was he on our streets driving a Y plate when there have been numerous roadblocks and checkpoints lately?  It was not reported whether the vehicle belongs to him or not, but considering his lack of residency it begs the question whether he was working illegally. What we do know is that he managed to stay under the radar of a number of entities (Identity Malta, Transport Malta, JobsPlus) until that fateful day which has changed the life of a man who was simply at work, making his usual deliveries like any other day.

I would like to see one political party taking the dangerous driving we witness on a daily basis seriously enough to announce more concrete measures which will take these menaces to society off our roads immediately.  There have to be draconian measures, such as a longer driving ban. In the UK, for example the ban is between 1- 2 years depending on the injuries and up to 5 years imprisonment. If someone is killed due to dangerous driving, the driver can be disqualified from driving for 5 years and imprisonment can be as much as 14 years, or even life.  

The enforcement we so badly need, but which everyone seems afraid to touch (because it’s easier to promise freebies) includes illegal development and tax evasion. Not only is it not being tackled but it is being retroactively sanctioned which sends the message: why bother doing things by the book?

On this island you can build 20 illegal padel courts on Manoel Island in full view of the authorities and then have them sanctioned by paying a measly €900 on the eve of the election. 

On this island you can reach a settlement with the tax authorities due to legislative changes introduced last year even though you were charged with income tax and VAT evasion, false tax declarations, defrauding the Tax Commissioner and making fraudulent gains to the detriment of the government.  The people benefitting from these settlements not only had their criminal charges dropped but can presumably keep on doing what they were doing before because …what is the deterrent?  They have to pay a penalty apart from the money which is owed, but how do we know this will actually be collected? 

When questioned about this, the Finance Minister explained his reasons for agreeing with this new measure: “Is it a question of putting tax evaders in jail and being satisfied with that? Or is it one of collecting what is owed or almost double that? Personally, I’m collecting more taxes and that is a bigger deterrent,” he says.

I sincerely hope he is on the right track and not just encouraging others to follow suit; to convince us this was a wise move, he should inform the public when the taxes and fines have been paid.  With both parties promising everything from more tax cuts (PL) to the removal of the inheritance tax (PN) it is still a mystery how each party is planning to finance their ambitious plans.  The proposals are meant to leave more money in people’s pockets which is a welcome initiative, but in order to increase stipends, build new hospitals, increase the children’s allowance and pensions and a plethora of other measures which are too numerous to count, the money has to come from somewhere.

It would be nice if the next time we read about the next free thing, both leaders could actually explain how they are going to pay for all this.