The photo was taken in 2011 and the stencil was sprayed all over coast-roads in Malta during that time. It emerged after the Nationalist administration granted a €500 weekly increase to government ministers in an unexpected and surprising move that doubled their salaries. The increase was highly controversial because it was granted during a time when the government applied an austerity policy in its finances, the economy was precarious and electricity bills were relatively high.
Nowadays, it’s the Leader of the Nationalist Party who is opposing a government minister salary increase. Opposition Leader Alex Borg said that the increase given to Ministers was disproportionate compared to increases given to public sector workers and private sector workers via the COLA mechanism. He is factually correct about the disproportionality.
There’s probably national consensus in Malta that politicians’ salaries should increase, but this consensus is very conditional. MPs are still part-time and the government should first address this issue by ensuring that MPs are full-time parliamentarians with the condition that they are not allowed to do any other work.
The problem with the government’s move is that it was made unconditional and without any prior public discussion. Most of us would probably not oppose a salary increase for Ministers as long as this salary increase comes with a respect for ethics and standards; somewhat deeply lacking right now.
The Opposition Leader is right to oppose this move and by doing so he’s also making many pseudo-socialists in Labour look ridiculous as they are compelled to conjure a ridiculous defence for this salary increase. Alex Agius Saliba thinks that MPs are the equivalent of public sector workers: considering the common slack in the public service and among MPs, I would say that he is not far off the mark.
The photo was sourced from Daphne Caruana Galizia’s website.
Website Editor
Historian and Publisher
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