Last week Mr Speaker, in his 7 June speech, stressed that Parliament is more than quorum calls, parliamentary questions and speeches. How true this is. The printed media gives space to letters that criticise the number of MPs and the costs to keep Parliament running.

However, a group of MPs from both sides of the House, to which I adhere to, perform a public relations exercise without any media coverage or credit, visiting residents of San Blas, accepting invitations from schools, colleges and various associations to attend fund raising functions, playing football.

We do this on our time, expecting nothing in return, except contact with whoever invites us. These visits are proving to be numerous and fruitful. It is also an enrichment exercise for all of us too.

Especially the San Blas visit, where one notices the sterling work being carried out, and the seriousness of the residents who want to reintegrate fast into normal society.

Just a note to the critics. An MP, like me, has the duty to attend the sittings, and as a member on the government side in the Council of Europe, attend meetings in Strasbourg. I am on the public accounts committee, treating hot issues, and am part of the EU working group, where laws in the pipeline and regulations are discussed. For all these sittings, and for all the subjects discussed, research has to be made and speeches must be prepared.

We do all this out of service to the nation, and with no financial aspirations. We all do a good job, which maybe is not given its true importance. We do it with pleasure.

On another current topic – street hawkers – in a parliamentary question I asked the government to consider amending the law. I suggested that the regulation imposing hawkers to remain 50-metres away from other shops in the same nature of business is changed, and instead reduce the limit to 25 metres.

Many of our towns and villages have hawkers who provide a good service to the community, and especially to the elderly.

With so many shops opening, and life changing so fast, so must our laws. They must be adapted to today’s life.

The euro changeover does come up from time to time. We now have it for a fact that the euro is beneficial to Malta in its trade.

The opposition Labour party has taken it up as an election issue, saying that January 2008 is the wrong date.

Obviously, everything that the government proposes is wrong. What the MLP says is that the euro should be introduced when Malta has an economic growth of four per cent. By putting the bar so high, it’s like saying the euro will never be introduced.

With hardly any election issue out in the open, Labour must make their platform on topics like this. It is a political policy based on opportunism, at a time when the government is going ahead with its programme, its vision and its plan for Malta.

With the World Cup on, we could give the Maltese people a break in the daily routine of politics. We can now disagree on other things such as Italy, England, Brazil or Argentina. Maybe some people support Costa Rica. Even here opportunism shines, as in order not to take sides, some people sit on a fence and get used to it.

Well, let’s enjoy the games.

Robert Arrigo is a Nationalist MP