Speaking at a party activity in Bugibba, Dr Sant said that the Maltese people, small businesses and the commercial sphere at large are being made to carry increasing tax burdens as a result of, what he called, a series of bad decisions. “This week the Prime Minister made a public statement admitting the incompetence of his government and the one before his,” he said, referring to Dr Gonzi’s parliamentary announcement regarding the Mater Dei Hospital construction.

While people were alienated with announcements that the hospital will be finished in 2003, then 2005 and later 2006, millions of liri were being spent on the project indiscriminately, he added. “Who will have to pay for these mistakes?” he asked. “The money will surely not come out of Dr Gonzi’s or Dr Fenech Adami’s pockets; they will have to come out of those of the Maltese people.”

He also complained about the rise in international oil prices, saying that the negative effect on the local market is a result of the government’s decision to do away with the hedging agreement, which the Labour government had put in place.

The same applies to the money spent on the embassy in Brussels, he said. “They could have done with an embassy worth Lm2 million but no! they had to have an embassy that will cost Maltese taxpayers some Lm10 million when completed.”

While huge sums of money are being burnt as a result of these decisions, other important areas such as education, employment and the outpatients department at St Luke’s hospital are being left short of budget, he stressed.

The Labour party will keep preparing itself for the eventual leadership of the country, but in the mean time the party will keep telling people the truth, in the hope that the government plucks up the courage to take the right decisions in the country’s best interest.