It has become quite amusing listening to the various ministers in the Nationalist Cabinet describing their pet projects as being state of the art. They almost expect to see our hearts melt like treacle in a warm kitchen when they repeat this phrase to impress the electorate on the eve of a general election.

We now have a state-of-the-art hospital, a state-of-the-art incinerator that burns rubbish, and even state-of-the-art paving in Merchants Street. What else does an ungrateful electorate expect from this government that considers itself God’s gift to the Maltese nation?

In my daily contact with people I immediately realise how disconnected this government is from the realities being faced by our hard- working families. I see elderly people economising on the bare essentials of daily life because their pensions can in no way be enough to cope with the ever-increasing cost of living. I have already met elderly people who are dreading this winter, which looks like it is going to be colder than the last one, because they cannot afford to turn on their electric heaters.

I meet young parents struggling to give the best education to their children, who have to work long hours every week to ensure that the money keeps flowing in. The staggering increase in the cost of living has eroded the quality of life of these people who until a few years ago never thought that they would have to struggle so much to preserve their standard of living.

Other working-class parents often give up on the education of their children because they already work long hours just to put bread on the table for their family. The result is that these young people fall into the poverty trap: they go through their school years without achieving much and end up like their parents working for a low pay. This phenomenon, which partly explains our low ranking in EU education achievement standards, is a tremendous waste of both financial and human resources.

It is as a result of these realities that the Labour Party is proposing a programme aimed at incentivising and rewarding those who want to work. Our various commitments are aimed to leave more money in the pockets of workers so that they will work more, earn more, and pay reasonable taxes.

While the reforms in the income tax system announced by the government are welcome, even if rather belated, they do not ease the pressure on those families where the breadwinners are unemployed or, if they are, they are not paying tax. This is why the Labour Party wants to introduce measures that benefit a larger range of families.

Our commitment to reduce the surcharge on water and electricity bills will ease the cost of living pressure on all families, but especially those who are more affected by this high cost item. Similarly, the subsidy on interest for first time buyers will ensure that young couples have a chance to start married life with a little less anxiety about financial commitments.

We are, of course, very conscious that our long-term economic prospects depend on improving our productivity. It is an undeniable fact that under the Nationalist administration our country’s place has fallen in the competitiveness table. We therefore need short-term measures to boost the morale of workers so that they put in more effort to improve their productivity, especially in the vital sectors relating to the export of goods and services.

A new Labour administration will not be led by state-of-the-art egos, but by a solid commitment to hard work, and to achieving excellent results for our country. This is what we mean by change, and this is what the electorate wants from us.

e-mail: [email protected]

www.mangioncharles.com

Dr Mangion is deputy leader of the Opposition