Apart from the freak weather we had – the kind of which I enjoy – the Santa Marija week this year will be remembered for the unprecedented decision taken by the government to sustain a private company to the tune of €360 million.

The guarantee that the government has given banks about the new power station project – that it will pay up for the loan if the company involved is not able to – amounts to more than €1,000 per adult person, excluding any interest.

The building of a new power station, and the reduction of energy tariffs, was the promise upon which the Labour Party constructed its election victory. It was the first plan presented by Labour on the first day of the election campaign, and remained as the highlight until the people voted.

After Labour was elected, the energy tariffs were reduced – although there are many who still dispute that, saying that their bills have more or less remained the same – but the power station has not materialised. It was supposed to be ready in March 2015, but nearly six months after the deadline expired, we’re still waiting.

In the meantime, the power interconnector with Sicily is in place and is being widely used, so much so that a fault in the connection some days ago resulted in a widespread power cut. This exposed the fact that the energy that was being supplied via Italy is enough to meet Malta’s needs at the peak of summer while keeping the Delimara power station on standby. In the light of this, why is then a new power station necessary? Let us also not forget that energy bought from Italy is cheaper than that produced at Delimara.

But the €360 million guarantee is not just about the money. It’s about a government offering to stand in for a private company if something goes wrong. This is what is outrageous. Whether the money involved is €1 or €360 million is relative, because it’s that principle of giving the guarantee that is disgraceful.

There are many businessmen in Malta who take out loans to sustain their enterprise and, rightly so, none of them seek such guarantees from the government. If they do, the government will send them away with nothing. Opening up a business or going for a project is a risk they take, and if they fail taxpayers will not be asked to pay up.

There are even more families who take out loans to buy their homes and, again, none of them seek the taxpayers’ assistance.

So why should ElectroGas be different? Why should the government offer them the guarantee that if they fail, their collapse will be paid for by the taxpayer?

There is a straightforward answer to this. Joseph Muscat promised a new power station. If he does not do it, he will be accused of basing his electoral victory on a promise he could not maintain. He’s already failed in sticking with the two-year deadline, a matter about which he promised he would resign but didn’t. Now his credibility on this issue lies with the completion of the project, even though this is not needed and even though this meant guaranteeing the opening up of the country’s coffers to a private entity.

The country is simply being asked to be ready to sacrifice €360 million for Joseph Muscat’s ego.