Churches across Malta are distributing free food in square cardboard boxes with the logo of the European union, and adorned with the blue flag with gold stars. These boxes contain rice, cooking oil, spaghetti and flour and are being given to people who request them. This seems like a charitable acknowledgment by the European Union of the growing poor and needy within the Maltese community. However, what does this imply about the way the country is being run? A prominent supporter of the Prime Minister who is also a government appointed chairperson, recently wrote:

The country right now is like a china shop...We are not in some terrible recession but things are tight. Every bit of the country or the economy is in a delicate position. Tourism looks fragile. Exports are struggling. “Flus fil-but” (money in the pocket) is in short supply for some...

The boxes are specially printed in Maltese, so it cannot be a mere surplus issue. These were specifically prepared and issued for Malta and the Maltese people. Is this an open admission that this government is unable to cope and unable to provide for its own people? We cannot be ungrateful for the generosity of our fellow Europeans, but on the other hand such a humbling situation does not correspond to the "blue sky" forecasts and promises which won the Nationalists the last election.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 at 11:24 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.