Attempting to distract attention from the real questions that people are asking has become quite a regular activity of the Gonzi administration. Over the past few weeks, the spin doctors in the different ministries have been assiduously, but unsuccessfully, trying to distract public opinion from the chase for the truth behind the apparently good news being announced. And this at a time when the electorate is forming its opinion on where to direct the country in the coming election.

Let us dissect these red herrings.

The statistics herring

I will not bore you with the details behind the statistics saga, but appeal to your common sense by asking a simple question. Since when in a democracy is the Opposition expected to make an act of faith and believe in the infallibility of the government, and the officials that serve it, by not scrutinising its actions?

But the government and its spin doctors are more interested in distracting attention from the real issue – the importance of public scrutiny of its actions – by claiming that Labour was being personal when it criticised the NSO’s controversial decision to revise economic statistics going back 10 years.

Do you really believe that had there been a different Director General at the NSO we would have refrained from making the comments we made, and with the same determination?

The euro herring

The government is obviously annoyed with the Labour Party’s decision, in the light of the realities we are facing today, to endorse its plans for the adoption of the euro in January 2008.

The Leader of the Opposition made the Labour policy on the adoption of the euro abundantly clear in his address to Parliament last November. And yet Dr Gonzi and his acolytes raise doubts about our commitment to the adoption of the euro on every occasion whenever they feel they are losing the political argument.

So the perceived anti euro stance of the Labour Party serves once again as another red herring to distract attention from the genuine concern that thousands of Maltese families have about their future, thanks to the burdens being imposed by the present government.

The medical herring.

The government spin doctors would have us rub our hands with joy since in a few months time, to be precise on Dr Gonzi’s birthday, our benevolent government will be giving the Maltese public “the biggest gift ever” in the form of a new hospital. How patronising can one get?

Once again this is the red herring being used to distract attention from the painful reality. The truth is that this hospital will have cost more than Lm250 million instead of the Lm82 million originally planned. This will, on average, cost every Maltese family an extra Lm1,250.

Yet I am sure that this red herring will not distract those thousands of families, who are disgusted at the deteriorating health care services, from passing judgement on this government’s failure to deliver a decent health service to all those who need it, especially those who cannot afford to pay for private treatment.

People are not stupid. They resent being treated like children who are told fairy tales just to keep them quiet. They expect their government to deliver on its promises, and not to patronise them by projecting itself as the only option they have available. There is another very viable option, and that option is a Labour government.

Dr Charles Mangion in the Deputy Leader of the Opposition