Blaming it all on the welfare state seems to be the best and the easiest way to address most governments’ woes.

Securing the fiat to dismantle the welfare state under the aegis of a social pact would be adding insult to injury and giving a kiss of death to the basic tenets of social justice that have worked their way into our daily lives over past decades.

It is within this context that it is worth revisiting the shocking statement made by former Finance Minister John Dalli in November 2003 when he made the budgetary announcement that not only are certain social benefits that were needed in the past no longer relevant but that we should, among other things, rationalise the plethora of social benefits that we presently have to ensure that our system will not turn itself into a disincentive for work.

This kind of battle is not only being fought on the local front but also on the international scene, with sociologists and politicians of a certain political bent even claiming that we would have been better off without a welfare state in the first place, since the failure of each component of the welfare state to live up to its founders’ “admirable intentions” apparently shows how misguided it happened to be.

This is the main thrust of James Bartholomew’s The Welfare State We’re In, where he has nothing but dismissive words for the health, education, housing and social security components of the welfare state.

In this particular book, things are carried to such an extreme that the author even has the cheek to allege that the welfare state is largely responsible for the decline in civility and rise in crime since it came into being.

His main point is that the voluntary arrangements that preceded the welfare state fostered self-reliance and self-respect.

In all fairness to the Maltese government I am not implying that this is its ultimate

objective, but there is no doubt that certain statements made and moves mapped out imply a noticeable weakening of what we had become accustomed to over the years. Recent talk of self-help seems to point in the same direction as that indicated by the author of the condemnable book just mentioned.

If government does not intend to dismantle the welfare state it should publicly condemn such tomes as mentioned above, which in the most unacceptable of ways seem to suggest that the welfare state should have never been established and should now be actually

dismantled.

It has created such an uproar as a result of its key budgetary measures that hardly any institution or organisation – with the exception of the MIA (which has a vested interest) – has found the time or inclination to even bother to express itself on the Pensions Reform White Paper, although the end of March deadline is fast approaching.

The MLP’s draft position on pensions is spelt out in its draft policy document on the economic regeneration of the Maltese isles, which is presently being discussed with the constituted bodies prior to the launching of an internal discussion within party structures.

As main exponents of a social democratic party that quite rightly aspires to be in government within the next few years, we must as of now ensure and pledge that we will make the Maltese isles a fairer and more just society, combining enterprise with equality, opportunity with social protection, security with liberty and responsibilities with rights.

Unless we do so we will not deserve the nation’s trust.

Eco-tax non-consultation

Dr Gonzi cannot exempt himself from being blamed for the lack of proper consultation on the eco-tax issue simply because he happened to be on a private visit in Italy. Unfortunately, this trait is becoming more and more symptomatic of his government ever since he took over from Dr. Fenech Adami.

When eco-taxes were first introduced, we were promised that further new eco-taxes would be only introduced following a lengthy period of consultation.

Leafing through Saturday’s newspapers, this does not seem to be the case.

Contrary to what was implied, the FOI

stated that it had certainly not been

consulted. The fact that the government spoke to a particular producer about the

matter does not – according to the FOI’s new director general – constitute consultation.

In the same breath, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise lamented that lack of consultation only leads to confusion. They went to the extent of complaining that, unfortunately, the list of new products falling under the scope of eco-contribution with the

relevant rates was not forthcoming to the chamber until the publication of the legal notice on New Year’s Eve. This was despite various reminders and persistence by the chamber in its efforts to be pre-informed.

For its part, the GRTU felt compelled to force the MCESD to discuss the eco-tax implementation process after having complained publicly that no consultation was structured with the social partners, and as a result, trade and industry were being hit hard and do not have sufficient time to plan ahead and instigate the changes necessary to sustain their viability.

Could all these major constituted bodies be wrong in complaining about the government’s poor consultation over the new eco-taxes?

Urgent need for early warning system

In its initial reaction to the tsunami disaster, the MLP made it clear that what was urgently needed was an early warning system to predict tsunamis in the Indian Ocean capable of alerting coastal communities about these “waves”.

We are pleased to note that this proposal, which was also made by other members of the international community, found the right backing when world leaders met recently for a one day emergency summit in Jakarta.

We were not suggesting anything that would reinvent the wheel.

All that we had in mind was something that could follow the Pacific pattern.

And that is basically what was agreed upon.

Leo Brincat is the main opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and IT

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