Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and junior Minister Tonio Fenech were among the early birds who attended mass at the Finance Ministry yesterday before the big final push to compile the Budget 2008 document.
A well-groomed, bright and cheerful Dr Gonzi spent an hour chatting about the way the budget was formulated with The Malta Independent before setting off on a tour of the offices to see how things were going.
“We are very encouraged by the feedback we got from the general public prior to this budget. Their comments over the phone, in writing and through email mostly confirm our surveys and whatnot, but it is always nice to have the human touch,” said Dr Gonzi, in between much-needed sips of coffee.
“The work here is ahead of schedule, but there are still some fine details that need to be ironed out. However, while the team will continue to work through the night, there are some who stayed up last (Saturday) night, so it is time for them to get some rest,” he said.
I asked Dr Gonzi where most of the feedback came from and the effect it had on the government’s decisions. “The cross section is phenomenal. Many older people used the phone to get in touch with us, while young people mostly used the internet.
“But the feedback I enjoyed the most was from two young children who sent me letters relating to the environment and animal awareness; it truly is remarkable,” Dr Gonzi said.
A chipper Mr Fenech added: “From the 4,000 or so submissions we received, it seems very clear that this Budget will be in line with people’s expectations and we are really happy to have involved the public in the decision making process. After all, the Budget is not the government’s, it is the people’s.”
I also asked the PM and Mr Fenech a simple question. “Sometimes, politicians – like journalists – are stuck in the world of officialdom and we can miss the wood for the trees. Have there been any suggestions where you have stopped and thought; what a good idea!”
Dr Gonzi answered frankly: “Like I said, many of the submissions confirm the surveys. But, yes, sometimes a non-technical person comes up with a good idea, or something we had not thought of as a knock-on effect. There are a couple of suggestions in that vein that have helped shape Budget 2008.”
Asked whether everything was finalised for printing, Mr Fenech chuckled and glanced at Dr Gonzi: “Like last year and the year before that, discussions will go up to the last minute. In fact there are two or three measures which we are not quite totally satisfied with yet.”
Smiling, Dr Gonzi joked: “But the estimates are done with, we keep getting requests right up to the last minute, but the ship has sailed now!”
The Prime Minister said that with Mater Dei Hospital having been completed, the government had a lot more room to manoeuvre than in previous years. “Tomorrow, all will go to print!” he said. We also touched on the issue of the Budget taking place earlier in the year, myself pointing out that it seems to have a calming effect, particularly in the business sphere. Mr Fenech said, “Yes, you are right, the only thing we have to watch out for is to get the projections for the last three months of the year right. But we haven’t really had any problems there, actually, we have performed better than our projections.”
Dr Gonzi divulged that the initial date for the Budget was penciled in for last Monday, 8 October. “It was a bit ambitious. We would have managed you know, but this extra week gave us more time to put together a more comprehensive and understandable document. It’s a fine balance you know, keeping it concise, but also explaining the jargon contained within.”
My final question before a walk around to meet the staff was whether the government could feel the tangible change in the way the Budget is delivered and it’s content. “Yes, people do look at it differently. They do not use it to see how much a can of tuna has gone up or decreased by, they recognise that this is a serious and well-planned event. This year more than any because it is the foundation of our plans for the next seven years till 2015,” said Dr Gonzi.
On the walkabout, I was privy to an anecdote told by the Prime Minister himself. “I will never forget, two years ago, I was working from home in the last stretch and I lost my softcopy on my computer! It just disappeared… One of those moments that computers have, you know.” It turned out that the text in that stage had been amended and was almost in its final draft. “Thankfully, we had a hardcopy to work with and we still managed to deliver it on schedule.”
The last stop of the tour also opened my eyes to another tradition. A very bubbly character, Salvu Gauci, Director of Budget Operations fished a cake out of nowhere. I thought it was a one off, but the PM’s advisor, Leonard Callus (who was in remarkably good spirits considering he had been up all night) explained that every year, Mr Gauci gets his wife to bake a cake on the last day of Budget drafting.
Budget 2008 will be presented in parliament tonight. The press will be locked in what we call “the dungeon” within the Finance Ministry at 4pm sharp. There we will be cut off from the rest of the world to get a head start on compiling our reports and will also be given a synopsis of all measures by Mr Fenech. Once the PM presents the Budget to the President, and begins his speech to parliament, the press will be allowed out and our work to deliver our reports to you will begin in earnest.
It will be a long day…