It seems as if the casual and apathetic attitudes that have been criticised in the past months have gotten to Prime Minister Robert Abela whose recent statements seem to enforce his populist views. At first, it was only fair that we wait and see how he performs his role as prime minister. After all, he had just taken the hot seat from the supposedly resigning Joseph Muscat and in the first months of his tenure, he had to face a pandemic that was totally unexpected.
However, his statement about how the hypothetical concept of the second wave of a pandemic has not gone down well with health workers and citizens. Abela brushed off the questions about the second wave and claimed that the only waves that he could see were in the sea. It seems as if Abela needs to brush up on his history.
The icing on the cake was the announcement that people who had been fined in the past months for gathering in groups larger than two (and then four), would be refunded and he went on to say that these people were not criminals but had made genuine mistakes. The announcement was met with backlash from a large amount of people who felt that the work of the health authorities and the police had been completely wasted. Personally, while I may agree that these people are not criminals, there is simply no logical reason to refund the fines. 100 euro is not a large enough amount that would cripple a person financially but it should have served a rightful punishment for those who chose to ignore the rules.
In conclusion, it seems as if arrogance is back on the political menu and only time will tell whether Robert Abela will be able to gain more trust from the Maltese people who have been worried sick if the pandemic gets worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment