Perceptions on budget and citizenship

The MaltaToday survey published in today's edition is a reliable barometer on where people stand on the latest Budget and on the new citizenship programme.

Surveys are traditionally indicators of public opinion but we believe they also provide an insight to what people support or oppose in general. MaltaToday surveys have in the past accuratly predicted such hens' teeth electoral margins as those of the 2008 election, so we stand by their accuracy as a proper indicator of what Maltese society is thinking.

The 2014 Budget, as presented by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's administration, promotes a number of fiscal initiatives which have been welcomed by several bodies and representative groups, namely because the initiatives are driven by a logical reappraisal of the value of work, and aimed at rewarding those who wish to make work worth it.

This step in the right direction has very much focused on getting more women with children and those who are married with children into a job and otu of their inactive lifestyles. There has been also a very clear emphasis on making childcare facilities available to everyone by making it free. These programmes should work to increase the number of women in the Labour market, especially given Malta's dismal standings in this European league.

Efforts to make the middle-aged jobless find work once again have also been evident in this Budget, together with incentives for part-time work and individuals working for part-timers. The electoral commitment to reduce electricity and water tariffs has also been a salient feature of this Budget - a long-awaited decision, so much so that the government was practically bound to implement it.

But it will come at a cost.

The flipside to this Budget is the citizenship programme, dubbed the Individual Investor Programme. If there has been an overwhelming approval of the Budget, the majority of the respondents in our survey have reacted negatively to the citizenship programme that will provide an estimated €30 million in income, half of which will finance the consolidated fund.

This is not at all unexpected, as is evidenced by the sizeable cross-section of respondents who understandably deem citizenship to be sacred and not something that should be sold.

This government has been clumsy in presenting its arguments on the matter. It treats the monetisation of citizenship as a favourable argument in itself, when there is clearly little support to grant citizenship to someone who does not enjoy a veritable community bond in Malta.

Additionally, citizenship by naturalisation should be an acquired right, and that right should not come at a price. Welcoming new citizens should be based on proven community bonds and participation in this community's wellbeing, improvement, and fostering of trust.

While the government treats citizenship from a purely fiscal point of view, it ignores the discrimination taking place right under its nose. Under present citizenship laws, foreign nationals who are resident in Malta and feel they want to become naturalised citizens, are at the mercy of the minister's discretion as to whether they get to be citizens or not; the silver lining is that the government has accepted to remove the discretion for the minister to accept as naturalised citizens under the golden passport scheme, those who face "politically-motivated charges" in their home country.

Our survey confirms that the government was unable to convince the public that this is a justified programme. Despite the contradictions in their argumentation, the Opposition has worked hard to destabilise the IIP plan. In the end, this law passes thanks to Labour's nine-seat majority, when in reality the majority of Labourites disagree with the IIP.

Whether the IIP will prove to be a permanent source of revenue that lightens Malta's tax burden is something yet to be proven.

Diversity in action

A Muslim candidate for Labour's EP campaign is a sign that times have changed. It is also proof that demographics - Muslims who are Maltese and EU voters - matter.

Muscat would not have responded otherwise. It remains a positive step for multicultural and religious diversity while revealing Muscat's political nous and his speed at responding to societal changes and their political opportunity - by fielding candidates who appeal to the gay vote and the growing Maltese Muslim community.

Irrespective of the motive, the final decision is a positive one.