From ‘scary’ numbers to scary politics: Delia’s migration gambit

A MaltaToday survey in October placed concern over population growth, along with that of foreign workers, as the most pressing issue (31%), just ahead of traffic and well ahead of inflation. But despite attempts by the Nationalist Party to milk this concern, another MaltaToday survey published last week showed that four in 10, trust neither party on this issue, with the PN being slightly less trusted than Labour on this sensitive matter. 

For PN strategists, this raises a major dilemma: Should they walk further into the minefield by upping their tone at the risk of sounding xenophobic, while scaring off those who—for different reasons, including economic ones—actually benefit from the presence of foreigners? 

Delia’s calculated push 

Adrian Delia’s speech—coming in the wake of a failed bid to get re-elected as PN leader—suggests that he wants to lift the brakes and turn this concern into a personal battle-cry. One also suspects that Delia is running one step ahead of his party on an issue which gives him visibility. Yet, he can do this because the party, in its entirety, toys with the issue without ever going all the way. 

Politicians often hide their true intentions by referring to “numbers” instead of people. Delia has rebutted accusations of racism by saying the problem is not the people themselves, against whom he has no ill feelings, but the sheer numbers which have increased sharply over the past decade. But he is intelligent enough to know what kind of feelings drive some of those applauding him. 

What the figures conceal 

Even so, Delia isn’t wrong about the numbers. The increase in the number of non-EU workers has been sharp in the past decade. But the NSO statistics cited by Delia divide the population into Maltese citizens and non-Maltese citizens. The latter category includes both EU citizens—who enjoy the same freedom of movement as Maltese people moving elsewhere in the EU—and third-country nationals, whose labour not only contributes to economic growth but also sustains vital services such as healthcare. 

The six localities mentioned by Delia include Sliema and St Paul’s Bay, where thousands of non-Maltese citizens hailing from the EU and the United Kingdom live. These include high earners working in the gaming industry. 

Moreover, even people from South-East Asia do not form a single category; while some have replaced Maltese workers in elementary jobs, others are filling skill shortages in high-tech industries. 

These statistics conceal a complex reality: Temporary workers who keep essential sectors running; others who are exploited in sweatshop conditions; some who have put down roots in Malta after falling in love with the islands, their landscapes, and their people. 

But neither is Delia mistaken on public sentiment, even if surveys should not be read at face value. People can have mixed and even schizophrenic feelings on this issue. Some may worry about the numbers, but for very different reasons. Concerns can be about infrastructural and housing pressures, while others may simply be irked by the presence of working-class people from South-East Asia or Eastern Europe. 

And while many see this as a problem, they may also fear that in their absence the economy would take a hit. It is not exceptional to find people who lament the presence of foreigners while milking and exploiting them. Still, while exploitation is a reality, employers also hire foreigners because of skills shortages.  

In short, it is irresponsible to lump foreigners (and their employers) into one generic category and use their sheer presence as an electoral slogan. This is simply because there is no easy solution for a phenomenon happening all over Europe, with countries facing the same demographic problems. 

Labour’s responsibilities  

Sure, the Labour government is partly to blame for various reasons. First of all, for nearly a decade it allowed a free-for-all for temping agencies to recruit people from the global south, and has only now come up with a labour-migration policy. It has also failed to ensure that public infrastructure, including public transport, is up to the challenge of a bigger population. 

Moreover, Abela himself pressed the narrative that Malta is “full up” for asylum seekers, and his government has also uprooted long-established communities of people who entered Malta irregularly but have been living here for 10, 15 and even 20 years. These communities have been used in a nauseating balancing act to appease public sentiment while recognising fundamental economic realities. 

Government has also been slow in addressing practices which enrich Maltese people while contributing to the demonisation of foreigners—we have seen landlords who rent their properties to a large number of foreigners living under the same roof, sometimes in apartment blocks meant for a smaller number of inhabitants. 

Neither has the government shown resolve in following up on integration policies. Back in 2017, Helena Dalli came the closest when she endorsed a Human Rights Directorate report suggesting that non-EU foreigners should vote in local councils, the same as foreigners hailing from the EU. But the suggestion was aborted following backlash. 

On this case, former Labour leader Joseph Muscat had been more upfront and blunter on the benefits of labour migration, going as far as saying that this was key to the Maltese becoming ‘sinjuri żgħar’ but he is also to blame for the laissez-faire attitude towards businesses exploiting their labour, which actually contributed to the negative impression some Maltese have of foreigners. In short Muscat’s Labour fed the narrative that it is our time to exploit foreigners to get rich quick. 

One may even argue that the unsustainable number of foreigners in some sectors—like hotels and construction—is the consequence of a growth-at-all-costs economic model. But if this is Delia’s starting point, he should focus on how to shift the economic model away from its dependency on over-tourism and construction. It remains unclear how the PN intends to change this model while still ensuring general prosperity. Still, it is easier to moan and rant about population numbers than to come up with proposals which are bound to alienate powerful business lobbies.   

‘Foreigners’ are not just a problem but an opportunity 

Delia has also latched his rant about foreigners onto Clyde Caruana’s focus on the demographic challenges faced by the health system. “It’s not the growing population or the importation of foreigners that is concerning the minister, but the fact that the Maltese are living longer. How shameful,” he declared. But on this count, the reality is that foreigners are part of the solution rather than a problem. 

Malta faces a demographic problem because Maltese citizens are having fewer children and living longer. But this is not just a Maltese problem—it is a global one. Europe’s population is ageing; Asia and Latin America are younger but also ageing; Africa remains the youngest continent. If current trends continue, there will not be enough Maltese workers to fund pensions, staff hospitals, or care for the elderly. Ultimately, the question becomes painfully simple: Who will care for you when you can no longer care for yourself? 

Caruana himself is wary of proposing the integration of foreigners in Maltese society as part of the answer to the pressing demographic challenge. Instead, he has focused on tax incentives encouraging people to have more children. The Opposition has also recommended family-friendly measures, like reduced working hours and a child trust fund for children born in Malta—available to those who have lived in Malta for five years and more, including foreigners.  

Still, this ignores the deeper cultural reasons behind declining birth rates. Women no longer accept being treated as incubators, and people nowadays have other interests apart from bringing up families. Some even prefer focusing their attention on nurturing one child. 

Perhaps rather than solely encouraging people to have more babies, we should think about how to welcome people from abroad who are ready to settle and raise families here. So far, we have always deflected concern of foreigners by saying that they tend to leave after a few years, after contributing to our tax coffers and economic growth. But this has also resulted in the increased presence of people who feel little need to integrate. While this kind of migration is inevitable, we can do more to attract people who actually want to be part of this country.   

That requires confidence and a departure from our colonial mindset, under whose lens we tend to view the foreigners in our midst as either masters or servants. For while Malta was once a colony, today we are treating some of the foreigners in our midst in the same way our colonisers used to treat us… or worse.  

As revealed recently by MaltaToday, foreign tenants and workers are often treated as living ATM machines. If we continue down that path, we risk an explosion of social unrest. The antidote to this is a stronger sense of community and a greater pride in opening ourselves confidently to those who wish to belong here either briefly or permanently.   

Social justice for Maltese, non-Maltese and aspiring Maltese alike is the key to get there. Populist slogans divorced from social and economic realities will only fuel resentment and gloom. This is why irrespective of his true intentions, Delia’s speech was an ugly one, far scarier than any hard-working foreigner living next door.