Noel Grima

The day after his re-election, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “I listened and I learned.”

Speaking at his monthly press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi took upon himself Tony Blair’s words and used them to analyse his first year as a prime minister and the work of the government as a whole, especially after the 12 March local council election defeat for his government.

“Yes, we made mistakes,” Dr Gonzi said. “We are not perfect and it is only those who sit back and do nothing who do not make mistakes. We tried to do too much, the eco-contribution should have been better introduced, we should have explained more…”

That is why, Dr Gonzi said, he has began to hold public meetings at Castille (the first meeting of these “dialogues’ was held last Wednesday) so that he could listen and learn.

Elsewhere in his question and answer session, Dr Gonzi was asked by the media about the pervasive rumours of an impending Cabinet reshuffle. Predictably, he replied by stating that a reshuffle is the prime minister’s prerogative and he decides on that “according to circumstances”. Pressed to state whether he is thinking of a reshuffle at all, Dr Gonzi replied he thinks of everything, thus also of the reshuffle, all the time.

He did, however, defend his ministers: they are dedicated people and hard-working, he said, and the results of their work is now beginning to be seen, while more will be seen later on.

This would be, however, the right time for a reshuffle. A year ago, coming to the premiership after the resignation of his predecessor, Dr Gonzi inherited Dr Fenech Adami’s Cabinet almost entirely. The question obviously would be: who will lose out in a reshuffle and who will be the new ministers, hardly easy questions to answer in the circumstances.

One must also consider that any ministerial reshuffle entails a huge loss of time as the new minister takes at least a year to settle in, so if Dr Gonzi is insisting on quick results, a reshuffle may even jeopardise the speed of delivery.

But to leave a reshuffle till later will probably be much more damaging to the government than to do it now, with all the dangers that lurk in such a move.

Dr Gonzi also spoke on the coming port reform. Port charges in Malta are among the highest in Europe, he said, and the investment in the port that should have been carried out by Cargo Handling had not been done.

He roundly denied that there is any intention to hit at the General Workers Union through the port reform, as GWU Secretary General Tony Zarb has said. The only aim behind this is to enhance Malta’s competitiveness.

The aim of the pending reform is to cut expenses to exporting and importing companies and thus increase efficiency and productivity.

Dr Gonzi also confirmed a report in yesterday’s l-orizzont which said that the government is ready to cut down on the number of public holi-days. But he explained the context of this decision: if, as is being said, the GWU and other unions force a referendum on the government’s decision on those public holidays which fall at a weekend, and this government’s decision is reversed by the referendum, the government will cut public holidays by means of a law.

Abortion

Dr Gonzi was also questioned on the Deputy Prime Minister’s declaration on Friday that the government will propose that the banning of abortion be included in the Constitution.

He was asked what has led to this declaration; whether there is a crisis of increased abortions that is forcing the government to act so, whether the government is consulting the Opposition or whether this move could be interpreted as forcing the Opposition into a politically dangerous corner, whether government considers holding a referendum on this issue and whether the government is afraid this would lead to a religious war.

He replied that Dr Borg’s declaration was in reply to the Pro-Life movement which sent a proposal to the government and the Opposition.

There are already consultations with the Opposition, as the government would not want such an initiative to be the government’s alone, but rather the result of a vast movement in the country.

It is clear that the government is in favour of life. Nor is this discussion being held because of some crisis but rather because this is an issue which is being discussed all over the world.

The debate will go on, Dr Gonzi concluded, and this discussion must now pick up.

ERM

In his introduction, Dr Gonzi referred to the decision the previous week by the Central Bank and the government for the Maltese lira to form part of ERM II.

Although it is still too early, he said, the first reaction to this decision by the financial markets has been positive.

Had Malta delayed its entry, it would not have formed part of the first wave of five countries who joined, and would have joined the other five who have financial problems which are not allowing them to join.

It is also a clear signal by the government that it intends to do what it has committed itself to doing and an approval of the government’s fiscal and monetary policy, that the government is in the right direction.

Dr Gonzi referred to the report in The Guardian which said that the government will have to raise taxes as a result of joining ERM. This is a total lie, he said, there is no link to ERM or the Convergence Plan.

However, he added, Malta’s tax rate is not among the highest in Europe when one considers everything from Income Tax to National Insurance, VAT, and environmental rates.

The government will take its decisions regarding any new taxes if and when it sees fit. Government wants to push growth in the economy

The economy

In his introduction, Dr Gonzi spoke about the January to March government figures, as published last week by the NSO.

These figures show that we are on budget, Dr Gonzi said, even if it is still too early to draw conclusions.

Government is on track as regards its expenditure: the wage bill has been cut by Lm1.4 million, or 2.9 per cent compared to last year. Operational costs have been cut by Lm6.2 million but part of this is due to the bill for medicines being allocated elsewhere. In real terms, the cut in operational costs is of Lm2.8 million.

Government has also passed on Lm1.1 million less to its corporations.

Nevertheless, he added, the deficit is higher but this is due to temporary items, such as an extra week of social security payments, which increased the bill by Lm8 million, and the fact that, last year, government revenue included Lm5 million for the privatisation of the lotto department, which was a one-off.

Unemployment is on the way down. The latest figures for May, he said, show that the number of those who are registering on Part 1 is less than 7,000 for the first time in many years.

The coming weeks will see increased negotiations within the EU regarding the EU 2007 to 2012 budget, as the Luxembourg presidency wants to wrap up discussions before the end of its presidency. Dr Gonzi will be taking part in Ecofin this week where the issues are expected to be discussed.

Other issues

Wider consultations: Government is setting up Forum Ewropa to take the place of Meusac for consultations with all social partners and civil society regarding all developments regarding the EU, including future EU directives.

Vandalism: Dr Gonzi again condemned the vandalism at Portes des Bombes and on government billboards. Someone is trying to undermine the government’s initiatives, he said. Later he added that his perception is that everything is linked: the slogan written on the billboard, the vandalism at Portes des Bombes, on the Catholic Institute and the PN club in St Paul’s Bay are all coming from the same direction, he said. He appreciated the fact that everyone, including the Labour Party, has condemned the vandalism and he hopes the culprit/s are caught.

Mater Dei and Dar Malta: Dr Gonzi denied that the plans for the new hospital have been changed. As a result of the November agreement with Skanska, the Medical School, which originally had to be built by 2012, will now be included in the building. To enable this, some internal alterations have been made and office space somewhat reduced. As for Dar Malta, the plans have now been submitted to the Brussels equivalent of Mepa and permission for the work is expected any day now.

Beach management: Dr Gonzi referred to the controversy regarding the rehabilitation of St George’s Bay and the allocation of a beach facility to the InterContinental Hotel. While he admitted to ignorance of the details, he said the process was done in full transparency. St George’s Bay is very important due to its proximity to the Golden Mile of five-star hotels. He announced that government intends to rehabilitate beaches to the level of St George’s Bay at the rate of one every year, but government also wants to bring in modern beach management practices: the company which obtains a concession on a beach must care not just for its own restricted area but for the whole of the beach.

Clean up Malta: In conclusion, Dr Gonzi also announced a focused action plan for one locality after another. Care will be paid to all that has been left to deteriorate: from traffic signs which have been damaged, to vandalised phone booths, to rusty and dangerous railings, cleaning up the grass verges, etc. A pilot project will soon be launched, he said.