Whether you want to liken him to a benevolent Santa or to a magician who has pulled several tricks out of his hat, Prime Minister Gonzi with his goody bag budget has managed to halt (at least temporarily) the momentum of the Labour Party in this campaign.

With one full swoop, by targeting practically every sector which has been complaining, Santa Gonzi has made everyone happy, and even managed to pleasantly surprise the lobby groups which are usually overlooked, such as animal lovers and people who work in the Arts.

It seems that even Dr Sant was taken aback by the extent of the government’s generosity – how else to explain his decision not to take part in the discussion programme Bil-Fatti?

The middle classes have been mollified with the change in income tax thresholds and the return of the children’s allowance to those over a certain income; pensioners at long last are going to receive the full cost of living increase and first time property buyers will be receiving much-needed subsidies.

So, what’s not to like? Why shouldn’t we keep the PN in power not just for five years, but for 10, 15, 20 – heck, let’s keep them there forever!

To answer this, one has to step back from the budget and not take it at face value, and instead, try to read between the lines.

First of all, to those who are saying it was an “election” budget – well, duh! Of course, it had to be at this point didn’t it? What was Gonzi supposed to do with election day staring him in the face – tell us to tighten our belts and face a winter of austerity?

In fact, the Prime Minister faced a “damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t” scenario. By giving people a great budget he is being accused of a calculated move aimed to “buy” votes. Had he announced more taxes and cuts in education, health and welfare… well, you can imagine the uproar.

Of course he could have taken the middle road, and been more prudent with his handouts, but (in case you’ve been living on the moon), the election is on our doorstep, and this is war.

So what we have received is a shower of gifts by a Prime Minister who was in an expansive mood, wanting to convince voters that with him in charge, they’ve never had it so good – which is why he should be returned to office.

However, those who are detached observers might describe it as a cynical budget for a cynical electorate. Like Britney Spears we’re all saying Gimme More (but then again, look at how this once mega rich star, who had everything she could possibly want, has self-destructed).

I wonder whether people are that gullible, to be taken in by a last minute attempt at giving in to their every single demand after 20 years (not three years, Dr Gonzi) of not being listened to.

And it’s all very well to announce a string of promises, but how many of them are feasible? For example, there was the “that’s news to me” reaction of Dr Stephen Brincat (Head of Radiotherapy and Oncology) when he heard about the launch of a national breast screening programme. He was quoted as saying that at present there aren’t enough human resources to cope with thousands of women all showing up for a mammogram. And, the Minister for Gozo has confirmed that at their hospital, there are simply no breast screening facilities at all.

Just a couple of small details, but there you go.

Reading and listening to economists about the Lm1.50 cost of living increase has also been an eye-opener. Basically, the argument goes something like this – an extra Lm1.50 to the average worker won’t make much of a dent in his spending power (Marlene Mizzi on One TV quoted someone as saying that it comes to about a kilo and a half of ricotta). But, Lm1.50 to an employer will make quite a lot of difference to his ability to be competitive, as it will drastically increase his overheads. As everyone knows, each year after we receive the cost of living increase and go shopping or use a service, we find that everyone has put up their prices to absorb this increase from their end. So as the saying goes in Maltese: “cikku briku, (we’re back to square one).

There’s also the little matter of why we were given that extra Lm1 when the COLA should have been 50 cents. It turns out (despite vehement denials to the contrary up to a few weeks ago) that, yes after all, prices are rising and the extra Lm1 was to compensate for this.

My question is: what will happen this time next year when it’s time for the budget? Will whoever is in government once again dish out a Lm1.50 increase, even though there is supposed to be a mechanism that advises against this?

As for all this extra money that Lawrence Houdini has managed to conjure up this year, will it have simply disappeared with one big “pouf!”?