Labour leader Alfred Sant is increasing the dose as the days go by.

He has always made it a point to speak about the rise in the cost of living, and this is no surprise considering that the Malta Labour Party has always based much of its political campaign on this issue.

But, lately, Dr Sant and the Labour Party are constantly insisting on the matter, perhaps even forcing the government to give it more attention than it would have normally done, even because the election is round the corner.

So much so that the government, through the Finance Ministry, felt compelled to organise a special meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development last Friday, in which the subject was discussed.

Yet again, however, while generally speaking the social partners were pleased that the government is trying to identify sources of external inflation and cushion them, Dr Sant hit out that not enough is being done to control the situation.

There are two trains of thought. While the government constantly reiterates that the rise in the cost of living is a direct result of the fluctuations on the international market – and in particular the rise in the price of oil and cereals – the opposition, while accepting that these factors have partly contributed towards inflation, believes there are other factors that are affecting such increases.

In this, the MLP finds the support of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, which last Monday issued a statement listing what it said were the factors that were affecting the cost of living increase. Among them, the GRTU mentioned unnecessary bureaucracy, bank charges, administrative charges, added costs due to traffic mismanagement and high prices for commercial property.

The MLP knows that inflation can be the column on which it can build its election victory. If it manages to convince the people that the government is not doing enough to curb inflation – not through price control which, Dr Sant insists, is a thing of the past, but through mechanisms protecting the consumers – then it would have made headway in the run up to the polls.

Labour is also tackling the matter in ways that could influence the people’s judgment. By insisting that the price of everyday items such as medicine and food is increasing, it will strike a chord especially among people who are experiencing financial difficulties, and this no matter what the government says.

In this sense, the MLP will also be “helped” with the introduction of the euro, in replacement to the Maltese lira, as from 1 January. We have heard many times that this will not affect prices – “new currency, same prices”, is the slogan – but on the other hand there will be an element of perceived inflation once the new year starts, and this in spite of an agreement the government reached with importers not to change prices at least until March.

We are sure that the MLP will pounce on the slightest of changes to prices to support its stand. We are also sure that, since the cost of living is something that most families monitor on a daily basis, particularly those in the lower income brackets, the MLP could gain support if it is seen to be genuine in its concern.

The government has not and is not ignoring the problem. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has dealt with the matter on a few occasions in his latest public appearances. But there is only so much that the government can do.

It can certainly do nothing to control the price of oil and cereals. What it can do is to analyse what the GRTU has said this week and take action where necessary.