It is salutary that voices are being raised openly by a few respected economists and business leaders to sound the alert, as economic clouds continue to hang over the Maltese economy.

They know that the economy is sick and in need of medicine, and that this is certified by thousands of citizens who have been set back. Unless the powers-that-be bite the bullet, something will have to give and that critical moment may not be all that far off, if remedial action is not taken.

The government propaganda media has its own good reasons to look the other way, and pretend that it is “performing miracles” and about to deliver goodies in abundance almost imminently.

In this, the government is being aided and abetted by friends it has placed in strategic positions. These seek to influence electoral opinion, with an eye on the approaching general election.

They represent a lobby which roots for the status quo.

In present day circumstances, this is akin to recommending that Samson takes charge of the temple after he has pushed down the pillars, or like proposing that Dracula administers the blood bank!

Is it not pertinent, in this context, to go back in time and recall the sober admonitions of the Governor of the Central Bank who pointed out, almost a decade ago, that we had been “living beyond our means for several years”, only to be ignored?

A money-no-problem fever produced “perennially heavy fiscal deficits”. Our economy was steadily exhausted by a haemorrhage that has never been controlled, and continues to this very day.

The politicians then in office were set on joining the European Union within the shortest possible time. They flew in the face of the Maastricht criteria and borrowed without limit.

Ignored IMF diagnosis

I recall reading for the first time, in The Malta Business Weekly of 4 September 1997 an extract from the report by a team from the International Monetary Fund, which concluded that the medium term outlook, at that time, was “clouded by the emergence of large fiscal imbalances that, if not addressed, will create difficulties for macro- economic management in the future.”

The report went on to observe that “public debt levels are rising at a disturbingly rapid pace, the sharp drop in national savings will slow the pace of growth in future living standards and the rundown in foreign assets erodes an important buffer in managing adverse external shocks: a significant danger given Malta’s small size and undiversified production structure” (emphasis added).

That was by no means the only time the Maltese economy was off course.

Earlier still, Finance Minister John Dalli had launched a five-year programme to rein in the economy. His declared objective was to reduce the deficit and to tame the wild horses of inflation.

Most of the measures he then proposed were subsequently honoured only in the breach.

Granted that, in any democracy, the affairs of state are to be managed by elected politicians, and considering that the Maltese economy is in travail, would there be hope for improvement, if the government and the opposition simply stop being adversarial and suspend the plethora of reciprocal indictments? I think not.

Clean sweep needed

What is needed is a clean sweep that will keep yesterday’s politicians at arm’s length. Malta badly needs a change of crew and the removal of old-school politicians out of harm’s way. The money-no-problem syndrome must be smoked out. I have held this view, and expressed it in writing under my name, as long ago as March 2001. Subsequent developments strengthen my view.

The challenge is to restore strength to Malta’s sinew, steel in Malta’s eye and enough firmness in Malta’s step.

Economic blueprints must take the place of electoral programmes with a view to attracting new investment, enhancing Malta’s competitiveness, cutting down the cost of government and so on.

All of this is, admittedly, sooner said than done. It is not enough to aspire to a generation of politicians who say what they mean and mean what they say. Politicians across the board need the democratic impulse of an electorate that scrutinises the performance of the political party machines, rather than vice-versa, and the unforgiving pressure of independent media.

Another endemic problem relates to the efficiency of the bureaucracy. The civil service is, in part overmanned, in part unprepared. It works for half a day throughout the summer, and fuels the rising cost of government.

Unless it is pruned and upgraded, progress is impeded or, at best, slowed down.

It is no fun being a responsible minister. It is even less so being a concerned MP with serious intent to turn the wheels of progress.

What Malta needs most – and urgently – is a generation of politicians at the wheel with a mindset attuned to turning those wheels.

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