Last Monday week, the Labour Party gave the Maltese people a taste of what the dialogue process we undertook with the civil society was really like; and this through its publishing the Pjan ghal Bidu Gdid (Plan for a New Beginning). This process which spanned over nearly three years involved a laborious exercise of meetings and discussions with about 300 different civil societies.

The process itself departed from the standard preparation of policies, within the inner party circles alone and roamed into the arena of civil society activity. It was a bold and wise decision to depart from the known and proven ground of previous policy preparation; but Labour, as always, initiated a healthy and worthwhile process. Not that the opinion of the internal party structures was not important, but that came at a later stage of the process. After all it was these structures which finally approved these documents.

The energy that was needed to amass such a mammoth political exercise is perhaps indicated by the size of the publication. But what is important is not the number of pages or the contributions, but the democratic involvement of civil society in structured politics. This clearly illustrates the will and the actual way in which Labour wants to go about in making politics. Politics from the people to the people, and for the people. What is important for the people is important for us. Not only so, but considering the administrative limitations of the party, the task should be more appreciated when one considers the amount of voluntary effort it contains.

On the other hand, when one looks at the government’s pre-budget document, one notes several factors that immediately attract one’s attention. The first and most important is that this document contains a number of ideas taken lock, stock and barrel from our policy documents, almost in the same terms as they appear in print, and this after these were ridiculed by the Nationalist top brass and their media. Secondly and worryingly so is that the document clearly fails to reach the standards of previous ones, and shows a sense of “let’s get it over with”, revealing a sense of tiredness.

Whatever it is, the publication Pjan ghal Bidu Gdid is only a milestone and not an end in itself. The process does not end here. It is part of the process of our presenting a clear political vision and a way forward for Labour in government. A far cry indeed from the recycled policies of the Nationalist administration that have resulted in the economic stagnation that Malta is in today.

On the other hand, unfortunately so, not all news was good news in the last days. Eurostat has recently published a damning report for the Gonzi administration, stating that average wages in Malta fell by more than Lm700 in the last three years, making it the lowest level of earnings, while everybody else in Europe was enjoying healthy improvement. This indeed confirms what Labour has been saying, that the Maltese are effectively earning less and less and that the situation is progressively deteriorating.

Coupled with the inflation that the man in the street suffers from (not the inflation we find published by the NSO), and the ever-increasing taxation especially the utilities surcharge, the wage-earning families never had it so bad. This ridicules seriously the illusion “that all is OK until the PN is in government” scenario, that this government is trying to project.

On the other hand as a Labour Party we look forward to serve this country and its people in the better interests of all.

Our pledge is clear: we will be not just an alternative government, but a better one.

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Dr Michael Falzon is the MLP Deputy Leader