Tonight, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant will be delivering a two-hour address in Parliament in reply to the budget for 2007 announced by the government last week.

Dr Sant, and the Malta Labour Party, have stood out as being among the few individuals and organisations that have criticised the measures introduced, finding little, if anything, to praise in the government’s plan for next year.

While the constituted bodies, including the unions, had words of praise for the way the government intends to boost the economy and at the same time reduce the financial burden on families, in particular with the revision of the tax bands, Dr Sant chose to play down and find fault with almost everything that was said.

It could be that Dr Sant was taken aback by the budget that was proposed. Maybe the MLP did not expect the government to come out with such a positive budget at a time when the Prime Minister continues to insist that the election is 18 months away. Maybe the MLP under-estimated the signs of progress that were being seen across the board.

The MLP increased the people’s expectations before the budget, and probably did not anticipate that most of these expectations would have been met. That is perhaps why it seemed to many that Dr Sant was at a loss for words in his post-budget press conference, except for the usual “lack of direction” and “no new ideas” rhetoric, and the out-of-place comment about Viagra.

A week has passed since then, and Dr Alfred Sant has had time to reflect more in depth on the budget presented. He has had the time to analyse the figures, examine the government proposals and scrutinise all the commas and full-stops of the Prime Minister’s speech.

He has had the time to consult with his closest advisors, parliamentary group and party executive to see what approach the MLP will be taking in the light of Dr Lawrence Gonzi’s address.

In an interview with The Malta Independent, carried last Monday, to a specific question on how the Labour Party would tackle the fuel surcharge problem, Dr Sant said that he will be revealing the plans in his reply to the budget.

But the people expect more than the MLP’s plans on the surcharge. What the people will expect tonight is the Labour Party’s vision for the country’s future. What the people expect is an attempt to try to convince them that the MLP would be a better government than the one we have today.

In the same interview, Dr Sant said that the opposition’s job is to criticise. But Dr Sant knows that it is more than that. An opposition’s role is also that of offering alternatives to the incumbent government.

Over the past months, the MLP has issued document after document to lay down its plans for the country’s future if it is elected to government. It has met and is still meeting constituted bodies and non-governmental organisations to discuss these plans with them in order to draw up a final version, which will be the party’s electoral manifesto.

Time will tell whether the MLP’s vision will be accepted by the majority.

What is certain is that tonight Dr Sant has another chance to prove that the MLP is more credible than it is perceived to be.

It is easy to criticise, but it is hard to come up with different options and convince people that they are better.

And this is Dr Sant’s task tonight. Yes, he must criticise what there is to criticise, but he must also provide the people with his own plans, his party’s plans, for a better Malta.

A convincing speech is what the people expect from Dr Sant and, if he manages, the points he will score will carry more weight than the electoral victories the party has obtained at local council and EP level since the last election.