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Our “decisive, courageous and determined” (sic.) Prime Minister has resorted to cooing non-working mothers to his fold when he should have shown some tangible gratitude to those working mothers who have contributed heavily to our albeit ailing economy especially consequent to his political party's mismanagement of our nation's finances. Who is this ‘new’ Prime Minister trying to kid with his feeble attempts at doing politics? Isn’t he aware that there are more than 8,000 people on the dole and God knows how many other jobless?
A working mother wakes up early in the morning, starting some house chores and perhaps having some hurried early cooking session. As soon as she gets home, after a laborious day’s work she juggles in between late hour errands, shopping, some housework, taking siblings to some Religious Cathecism sessions, or perhaps some private tuition, or football nursery or cultural engagements. She is back home, tired and wrecked. Her other half, fully aware of the hardship both working parents entails, gives a hand at house chores and attending to the children’s increasing demands. She had no time for herself, she dedicates most of the days’ time to her occupation, her husband and her demanding siblings. Every night she prays to God to give her strength courage and energy to cope with the demands of her paid and unpaid occupations.
Her house is most probably never as immaculately clean as she would desire. She hasn’t got the time and energy to keep it that way. She is hounded and overburdened by taxation. What she earns is nibbled at through income tax and social security. She has been deprived of the children’s Allowance through the infamous income ceiling notwithstanding the by now defunct propagandistic electoral promise that “all children should be entitled to Children’s Allowance.”
On the other hand, most of the non-working women have chosen to stay at home presumably to watch some morning soap operas, attending the frequent coffee-mornings, doing housework at their own pace and leisure, preparing hot plates for their pampered children etc.
Their houses are most probably immaculately clean. They have all the time and energy in their hands The government has done it wrong again. It should have sought to give working mothers a tax break. Non working mothers most probably, in these times of soaring prices, can afford to stay at home simply because whilst their breadwinner claims to be barely making ends meet for taxation purposes, they are living off hidden surplus income.
They can fool our finance exchequer, being the Prime Minister himself, declaring a low income and affording to go abroad, once or twice, owning more than one residence and automobiles, perhaps owning also a boat and other luxuries which salary dependent employees can’t afford notwithstanding both husband and wife working. They are unfairly at par with working mothers or even privileged in their entitlement to free health services and other social benefits. No wonder, most of our Parliamentary representatives’ wives are non-working mothers!
Saviour Sammut
Safi.
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