The week that was

One of the more interesting polls this week was an exit poll from CNN. The American station polled people who had just voted. They were not asked for whom they cast their vote.  

Rather, they were questioned about concerns and as it turned out the two highest concerns were the economy and immigration. On the lower end of their concerns, the exit poll discovered, were democracy and abortion. 

The first signs of a defeat for Democrat Kamala Harris were being mentioned in the conversations of political pundits. 

In all its wisdom, the heavily greased Democrat electoral machine, seems to have misread the people’s concerns.   

And what is most surprising is that the Bible for every electoral handbook was completely ignored and relegated to the shelves. 

The electoral handbook starts by quoting that famous political strategist James Carville (consultant to Bill Clinton) who famously said: ‘The economy stupid!’   

That was a good enough reason for Americans with reduced purchasing power to see Donald Trump as their saviour. 

The handbook goes on. Democracy, corruption, fraud and abortion will never be game-changers. They will only influence the game if the party in opposition uses them against the incumbent and only when the economy is faltering. 

There are other provisos in the handbook. One of them states that just because you are black, or Latino does not mean you are concerned about xenophobes and sympathetic with immigrants. In fact, it turns out that the exact opposite is true.    

The final appendix in the handbook says that democracy has serious flaws. Not all the noble arguments advocating the high moral ground mean much, and morality is never a real consideration. How sad!  

On the other hand, people want to have a dream spelled out for them and a guarantee they will be better off tomorrow than they are today. 

Trump, as we are fully aware, has changed the nature of doing politics. Five years ago, political correctness was a very strong sentiment. 

Today, it has been eradicated by loose talk, fake declarations, long bouts of verbal abuse, comical relief and a view of the world that is shocking and regressive. 

Which brings us closer to home. 

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Prime Minister Robert Abela has publicly chosen to back his two cabinet ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri.  In making his assessment of the situation Abela has had to consider straining his political base or take into consideration the ethical questions surrounding the employment of Bartolo’s partner.  

By political base, I mean that Bartolo and Camilleri are two of his more loyal ministers. They have been loyal and were always there for Abela from the very start. Abela knows that he cannot afford to lose them. 

At this juncture, Abela prefers to sail through the political storm, rather than start an earthquake in his posse of loyalists. But it does not mean that there will not be repercussions.   

By "repercussions" I do not only mean the expected reaction from the Nationalist Party and constituted bodies. I am referring here to hard-core Labourites who are not happy with what they see and read. 

One step that could help Abela patch up this storm is to propose a more rigorous selection process for political appointees: A capping of the size of secretariats, persons of trust and advisers. This should be accompanied by a clear brief on the competence of the persons chosen to fill these posts. 

And surely, the salary structure for some of the individuals in the secretariats does little to address the poor salary structure of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.   

Surely, apart from the ethical issue and allegations of abuses, we should really start addressing the remuneration of elected politicians. 

The argument that this should not be changed because it will make people angry is rather irrelevant.   

People have been angry about so many things: Panama, Vitals, the Daphne murder, the disability benefits scandal, and several instances of abuse of power. Addressing the salary structure of elected politicians and making their remuneration commensurate with their responsibilities not only addresses a deficiency in the system but also makes them more accountable.  

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There has been a lot of talk about changing the economic model. The elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about is the manner by which this is done. 

Malta's corporate tax rate is a high 35% on paper but certain companies in Malta can effectively reduce this to only 5%. The tax imputation system allows a refund of up to 30% based on the distribution of dividends. 

This apartheid system, which benefits foreign companies, deprives Maltese companies of a level playing field and has spiked salaries and other activities such as rents. If we want to calibrate the system and want to really help Maltese companies when it comes to employing Maltese workers by incrementing salaries and investing in their projects, we need to end this discrimination now. It will re-calibrate the economy, give Maltese companies a breather and to some extent it will help address the population question. None of the political parties have the gall to raise this but more on this next week.