Is Malta An Oligarchy?
As Malta marches to the polls, all eyes are on the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine. Everyone across the islands has been quick to admonish Vladimir Putin, and rightly so, with his system of oligarchs paying a hefty price. But if we look a little closer at home, we would notice that Malta’s political system isn’t far from its Russian counterpart.
Russia, much like the US, relies on a system of economic elites whose business interests far outweigh the needs of everyday citizens. Sounds familiar, right?
But while it’s a word usually reserved for Russian oil and gas tycoons, a closer analysis would reveal that we suffer from the same problems, despite believing in our democratic elections.
Once every few years, Maltese people are herded into election booths with politicians promising the world to voters. But the truth is that once the democratic theatrics are over, it’s the wealthiest among us who yield close total control of the proceedings time and time again.
It’s easy to see in the figures. Studies show that the richest 10% own half of the country’s wealth, while the rest of the population has actually seen its share decrease.
And while Maltese people, in general, have more income and employment, the cost of living has skyrocketed, with average families surviving from paycheck to paycheck.
And while it was definitely exacerbated by the pandemic, the trend began before COVID-19 ever reached our shores. A few bad months and scores of people faced eviction, while many others turned to food banks to get their daily meals.
Meanwhile, the richest among us sauntered on and actually increased their wealth in some instances. Developers, for example, who freely admit to donating to both political parties and asking politicians for favours, recorded record sales throughout the pandemic.
An oligarchy, for those unfamiliar, is a power structure made up of elites who have control over the country. It can exist in all forms of government, whether it’s democracies, theocracies and monarchies.
That economic elites rule over the government might be obvious, but many refuse to recognise the major harm it’s done and continues to do to Malta.
The political influence of the wealthiest among us dwarfs that of the average voter. In Malta, it is on full display inside the Planning Authority.
The PA board regularly acts against the interests of residents, local councils and even policy once a wealthy developer sets their sites on a project. Just look at ITS, Manoel Island and Mercury Tower – or the wealth of ODZ development taking place.
Activist groups across Malta, namely Moviment Graffiti, have warned time and time again about the power developers hold. “Whenever Joseph Portelli is involved, the PA rolls out the red carpet,” one activist said during a recent PA meeting.
Meanwhile, there are enablers who work in government who pervert laws and then freely operate in the sector to the oligarchs’ delight. Think of people like Perit-Avukat Robert Musumeci, who continues to exploit loopholes of laws he drafted for insane personal profit.
Regulations have been lifted to devastating effect with the number of applications skyrocketing in recent years. The result? Most people now struggle to get on the property ladder and are forced to turn to shoebox apartments to find a decent living space.
Even collapses of homes couldn’t get developers in line. After three collapses in 2019, then-MDA President Sandro Chetcuti was presented as the sherpa to bring the industry in line. Barely six months later, Miriam Pace was dead and one of the MDA’s board members was responsible.
Unsurprisingly, no one went to prison for Miriam’s death.
However, it does not end there. Public assets have been sold off to private interests, and more often than not, the deals are linked to a widespread system of corruption and kickbacks.
From Electrogas to Vitals to Montenegro to roads, the Maltese government has used hard-earned taxes to enrich their inner circles, freezing out anyone who dares challenge the leadership. Of course, this is not a system invented by the current administration and has been around for decades.
The system of rent-seeking that pervades the Maltese system is best explained by Mark Camilleri in his book ‘A Rent Seeker’s Paradise’. In Malta, wealthy business people give money to the party, intending to get something back from the government, and the party is fully aware of their intentions. Worse yet, they purposefully hide the funds through murky propagandist channels.
Just look at former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. He may have used promises of civil liberties and significant reform to lure in voters in 2013. Still, his ability to steal scores of business people away from the PN with incredible promises is what secured his historic win and his continued grasp on the country.
Government contracts and direct orders are dished out to keep everyone happy, in the hopes that no one rocks the boat and impacts the flood of money reaching those at the very top. It should be made clear that he did not reinvent the wheel but rather kickstarted the engine developed by the PN administration.
It should be no surprise to anyone that the very same people who funded Muscat’s rise in power thanked him in kind and are now dishing out cushy consultancies to their former provider.
None of this means that ordinary people never get what they want from politicians, but that the government continuously chooses to represent the wealthiest among us, who in truth make up a far smaller percentage of the population.
Worryingly, Maltese people have even been indoctrinated to think that favouring business interests is fine. Providing jobs, income, and economic growth mean absolutely nothing if it comes to the detriment of large swathes of the population.
It might be fine to agree, but to think we live in a democracy is a fallacy.
So what’s the cause and solution? At its heart, this is a problem of corruption – caused by money in our political system. Its created a system of revolving doors of self-serving politicians who spend more money on election campaigns than they do on the things that matter: like education and climate change, for example.
Campaign finance reforms will help, but how can we trust the very people who created this system to effectively address the scenario? In truth, the one clear solution is staring us right in the face.
On 26th March, it’s time to vote for politicians who have people’s interests at heart. There are scores of new candidates from PL, PN, ADPD and Volt who deserve the chance rather than the current lot.
It’s time for change. Otherwise, expect the reign of the wealthy to continue.
Do you think Malta is an oligarchy?
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