Malta’s party funding mess

What has been known for ages, namely that oligarchs use dirty methods to influence decision making, is becoming clearer by the day.  The new law on party financing is already proving to be a joke and the lack of real autonomy of institutions such as the electoral commission doesn’t help.

Amid this mess, I strongly urge politicians against corruption to put the common good before partisan interest.

Whether one’s affiliation is red, blue, green or orange, politicians against corruption should declare that they will not accept illegal donations for themselves or for their parties nor will they have conflict of interests with respect to their political and professional work.

It’s about time that Malta seriously considers state-party financing and full-time parliamentarians, rather than an amateur system running on dubious donations.

Politicians currently involved in such illegalities and conflicts of interest should resign. It is quite clear that some do not have the decency to do so. I hope that the electorate gives them a lesson.

In the run-up to the general election, one can only accept more dirt to come out in the open. My hunch is that unless good-willed politicians unite against corruption, there will be a zero-sum game of divide and rule, to the ultimate benefit of the corrupt status quo.

Small parties have a vital role in being voices of reason to help clean up the political system. Good-willed politicians from major parties should unite behind the anti-corruption banner.

It’s about time that Malta seriously considers state-party financing and full-time parliamentarians, rather than an amateur system running on dubious donations.

Questioning Malta’s economic model

Malta’s economy is doing well at macro-level. But is it peaking and moving towards unsustainability in view of over-reliance on construction?

Apart from the sale of citizenship and tax-payer subsidized electricity provision, it seems that there are practically no new alternatives to sectors which are more fragile than others.

Is Government’s current economic policy modelled around electoral cycles or around sustainability? I think that it is imperative to ask such questions and to read between the lines when copying and pasting reports on Malta’s economy.