Farsons Group CEO Norman Aquilina has taken to social media in his personal capacity to express a sentiment often echoed by business leaders on the island and beyond: as politicians make their electoral pledges, a long-term vision for the country should be central, rather than “opportunistic short-termism”.

Malta’s voters will be heading to the polls in a general election on 26th March. While electoral campaigns around the world are often characterised by generous promises as politicians hope to win the approval of the electorate, two years of uncertainty stemming from the pandemic, and now the spectre of a war possibly spilling out into Europe, has created unique challenges.

It is within this context that Mr Aquilina has called for long-term political vision:

“The electoral programmes of the political parties sound more and more like reactive short-term handouts with the intent to simply lure or appease voters, without adequately conveying their long-term political vision,” the CEO wrote.

“There is a glaring problem with many politicians who lack a broader coherent vision, or at best only have tunnel vision.”

Mr Aquilina adds that a vision for the country must provide substance, with an overall view to improve key pillars of life in Malta:

“We need a vision which clearly plots out the direction, a vision which gives substance, a vision which conveys meaningful intent, a vision with an ongoing quest for improvement from an economic, social and environmental perspective which the public can relate to.

“We need more leading political vision and less opportunistic short-termism.”

Mr Aquilina is a well-known figure within Malta’s manufacturing sector and business community in general. He was appointed Group CEO of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, in July 2010.

He has also formerly held the posts of Senior-Vice President of The Malta Chamber, and President of the Malta Business Bureau.