From Mr J. Azzopardi MP (PN)

“In a time of universal deceit, telling

the truth becomes a revolutionary act”

George Orwell

And counting.

Allow me to explain. Last Monday, Minister Austin Gatt replied to my parliamentary question concerning the oil surcharge. I had asked the Minister, keeping in mind the present oil prices, to calculate the cost of the full surcharge. The Minister’s reply was that with the price of oil as at 8 November 2007 (which, when I looked it up, was $92.79 per barrel on that day) and keeping in mind the exchange rate for the dollar on that day, the surcharge amounted to 132 per cent. This is equivalent, he said, to Lm62 million. Half of that is, of course, Lm31 million.

It so happened that later on that same evening on PBS, former Minister Lino Spiteri termed the MLP’s proposal to halve the present surcharge as “not reflecting social justice”. In other words, one of Malta’s foremost economists and in my view, one of Malta’s most successful and well respected politicians, condemned the much touted MLP’s proposal as an injustice. In his eloquent explanation, Mr Spiteri showed how such a proposal actually benefited upper income bracket earners and discriminated against those most in need.

That is why I have titled this opinion of mine as Lm31 million of social injustice.

Since the MLP is throwing caution to the wind and promising to reduce the present surcharge by half, whatever the price of oil, it effectively means that the MLP needs to give effective and credible explanations as to how and from where it will cough up the Lm31 million (short of increasing taxation) to finance its irresponsible electoral gimmick. No wonder so many Labour-leaning and pale red families are confiding in me, especially in the last few weeks, their disillusionment with Dr Sant.

The reply given to me in Parliament on Monday also showed how well off the mark the MLP’s Secretary General was when he was quoted as saying that the MLP’s promise would cost “between Lm15 million and Lm19 million”. No, dear Jason, it is not Lm15 million nor Lm19 million. It is Lm31 million. And counting, since the price of crude oil continued rising after the quoted price of 8 November. And experts are predicting more increases in the short to medium term.

The reply also gives the lie to the Leader of the Opposition’s vaudeville calculation of the Lm15 million cost in total of all the MLP’s proposals. This is due to the fact that Dr Sant has said that the infamous four electoral promises (including the surcharge and the overtime proposals) would not amount to more than Lm15 million. Now, if half the surcharge on its own amounts to at least Lm31 million (with oil prices as at 8 November), how on earth can the Leader of the Opposition claim, and keep a straight face, that all of his four electoral promises to lessen the cost of living will not exceed Lm15 million?

To further confirm how superficial and artificial the Leader of the Opposition is (unless he is making one of his difficult-to-decipher jokes) when dealing with our future one has to go back to last June. This is because last June Dr Sant, on One TV, claimed and promised that the MLP will remove the entire surcharge. Not half of it. That is, Lm62 million as at 8 November. Where will the Lm62 million come from, unless from heavy taxation?

Can someone ask the Leader of the Opposition not to continue making fun of our intelligence? Is it possible that there is no one with a modicum of self-respect in the MLP who is audacious enough to tell Dr Sant that yes, you can fool the people once. But not all the time. Is there such a dearth of morally upright officials in the MLP to dare drag Dr Sant’s burlesque gimmicks over the coals, at least internally?

We, the people, demand to know. The people have a right to the truth.

Jason Azzopardi

Chairman

Foreign and European Affairs Committee