From Mr A. Gauci Cunningham

So the head of the Party of European Socialists Dr Poul Nyrup Rasmussen thinks that Malta needs a new (Labour) government.

Had I been somebody else, I would have told him to bite his tongue or to mind his own business or, who knows, maybe accuse him of being cut off from Malta’s reality and add the words “he’s a banker or an economist” to prove my point! But I’m not somebody else, obviously, so instead of shrugging criticism off in the hope of it doing minimal damage to somebody’s party, I am accepting the challenge to say why I think Mr Rasmussen is obviously misinformed.

“Child care facilities are one of the most important programmes... we can never invest too much in them.” Very well said, Mr Rasmussen. In fact there has never been a bigger investment in child-care centres as there is now, due to the recognition of this problem. Even the private sector is slowly but surely reacting to this reality.

Then Mr Rasmussen said that “...education is just as important... a country cannot be competitive and create new jobs without education…”. How right the head of PES is. In fact, there has never been a bigger investment in the modernisation and building of schools as there is at present: St Benedict in Zurrieq, The Verdala school in Cospicua, the new Tal Handaq school in Qormi, computers in each classroom, the new national curriculum, the MOU with CERN, thousands of university students getting stipends whether studying in Malta or abroad, the re-opening of MCAST, a thorough improvement in public schools, the new sports centre in Cospicua, a new school in Gozo and several pro-environment initiatives in all schools.

“Better jobs... are needed”. Well said again, Mr Rasmussen. In fact there has never been bigger investment in better jobs: SmartCity, HSBC, Lufthansa Technik, Banif Bank, betting companies, pharmaceuticals, English language teaching (TEFL), new and better hotels (true a number of 3-star have closed) and higher wages for the police, the nurses and doctors, soldiers with the AFM and all public-sector employees.

When asked about the MLP’s objection to Malta joining the euro zone, Mr Rasmussen was quoted in The Times as saying that he would rather focus on the future. How very well said!! That’s what is happening right now. The government has come up with its ambitious goals of Malta reaching excellence in five sectors by 2015: IT, tourism, environment, Gozo and financial services. Dr Rasmussen said: “Change is now”. How very true, Mr Rasmussen! Change is indeed happening now. We have changed this island from a hell-hole to one of the top countries in the EU, from a nothing in the Mediterranean to a full member of the EU, from a weak protectionist economy to an open one bursting with competition, from a country that regarded university degrees as tissue paper to a country that has 10,000 prospective students and counting, from a country with no infrastructure to a country with a state-of-the-art hospital, airport, power station, waste recycling plant, schools, arterial roads, old people’s homes and restored monuments.

Having said all this, I’m still wondering why Mr Rasmussen wants Malta to have a new government and yet I will not ask him to bite his tongue – it’s just not me!

Albert Gauci Cunningham

ST PAUL’S BAY