Some say it will be more of the same. Others believe it is the annual day of reckoning – the annual evening in which all Members of Parliament, be they on the government side or in the opposition seats, stay for the whole

sitting. The Prime Minister, as Finance Minister, will go through the motions by first going to the President and then walking to the chamber where the budget speech is read.

All ears will be awaiting messages: whether there are any new incentives, whether there are any new taxes and what’s in it for each and every one of us.

We will definitely be told that the government has reached its financial goal – that of reducing the annual deficit to Lm76 million. Not a bad achievement when one considers that some Lm55 million goes towards the servicing of existing loans. This means, in actual fact, that the real capital deficit will be in the region of Lm21 million – but since one adds on to the capital deficit the interest payable during the year, it will go up to Lm76 million again. In addition to this the Prime Minister will, as per projections, read out that next year’s deficit will fall to below three per cent of GDP.

Looking back and remembering the years in which the last “New Labour” Government could not contain expenditure and was topping the annual deficit by Lm150 million, I can safely say that we have made substantial progress. This is happening notwithstanding the fact that unforeseen phenomena have hit us quite hard.

What happened this week, with the announcement of the new surcharge on electricity bills, is due to the sharp rise in the price of crude oil, which is hitting not only us but the rest of the non-oil producing countries below the belt. However, the government seems to have been able to take it in its stride. It is true that there are sacrifices to be made, but these have to be made in the right direction so that our economy and industry do not suffer any seriously damaging blows.

I believe that our government has substantially matured.

Over the last few years we have turned our attention and have worked towards the right perspectives. These are starting to give the desired results:

• The unemployment figures are now the lowest in the last 10 years, apart from 2000. This notwithstanding the usual and well-known scaring cry by the opposition that Europeans would have come over and taken most of the jobs after joining the EU.

• The education sector is being given the necessary overhaul with regard to the infrastructure, curriculum-wise, in networking and in the stipends sectors – with preferential treatment being given to subjects for which there is a dire need, as demanded by the new economic realities and opportunities. The government is addressing the need for life-long learning as one of our success formulae. If we are to succeed, we must diversify our capabilities. We need to have an intelligent and capable workforce which meets and overcomes the challenges of the open market.

• The need to change cultures and be aware of the need to have a healthier environment has been addressed, notwithstanding every possible delaying tactic being taken by the opposition ranks.

We have addressed the Sant’ Antnin Plant’s needs for upgrading as well as the Maghtab Mountain Saga. Of course there were no thank you notes addressed to Minister George Pullicino; however his success is no small feat.

• The continuing steady increase in the chosen niche relating to financial and IT services is another government success story. Surely no one can attribute any of this to the Labour government, which at one time thought that this service industry was the joke of the day. Gone are those years when the application for the purchase of an office computer had to be accompanied by a declaration that this would not mean loss of jobs.

• The long road towards tackling tourism with a different attitude is starting to show results also. Thanks to the continual work over the past 15 years or so by Ray Bondin and the Valletta Rehabilitation people, the Infrastructure Ministry as well as by the more recently set up Malta Heritage Group, we are seeing the upgrading of some of our historical assets to international standards. Today we can advertise that we can truly walk the tourist through a 6,000-year epic starting from the temples at Mnajdra to that special day back in 1964 when Malta came of age. We are endeavouring to take our visitors though this experience leaving them with a taste which will, at the end of the exercise, make them want to come back for more.

• The 18-month old experience within the European Union as well as the Fifth Financial Protocol signed with the Italian government are also going a long way in helping us achieve a better road network. The money has been made available and one must also consider the success achieved so far as having also been the result of the determination and continued effort put in by Minister Censu Galea and Minister Jesmond Mugliett who have worked even through many a night to come up with the desired results. Of course there were sacrifices to be made on the way but the results are showing that it was worth it.

One could go on and on - each item hitting the opposition hard because we have been able to turn vision and ideas into realities. We can afford to say that we have come a long way but still have a lot to address. Our Prime Minister and his government believe that we can take up any challenge, which comes our way in spite of our limitations. Perhaps his most important winning hand comes from the fact that he believes in the Maltese people and in Malta.

Well, once again, Monday’s Budget is round the corner. At 6.30pm we shall officially know what’s on the agenda. Whatever it may be, it will certainly be an invitation for us to work harder, a call for the Maltese people to stand out as a nation and prove not only to ourselves but to one and all that if we decide to beat the odds we still can make it.

With determination, we shall not only survive but shall all come out winners.

Tony Abela is Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister