The Nationalist government has become so predictable! When everything else fails, they play the EU card. Scaremongering is built into the DNA of the Nationalist Party. They try to project themselves as the natural party of government, and when their incompetence catches up with them they resort to scaring the electorate by saying that without them in power, the country will go to the dogs.

With an election just around the corner, the Nationalist government is aware that even its most loyal supporters can no longer stomach its arrogance, its disregard of the environment, its waste and tolerance of corruption and its inability to raise the living standards of most Maltese families. With the ideological argument of EU and eurozone membership now settled through the Labour Party’s endorsement of the choice of the people, they feel insecure because their governance of the country has left so much to be desired.

The Labour Party has made it amply clear to everyone that our future in the EU and the eurozone is no longer in question. The big challenge ahead of us is to raise the living standards of Maltese families to reach the levels of the best performing countries within the EU. To do this, and to protect the interests of our people, we need to argue our case with the EU’s various commissioners on issues that affect the prosperity of the different sectors of our society.

Unlike the Nationalist Party, we have no inferiority complex and much less a colonial mentality that makes us subservient to anyone who can influence our future with his decisions. Of course, we understand the obligations to which we committed ourselves when we became members of the EU. But we also understand that, unless we argue our case convincingly within the structures of authority in the EU, we will fail to obtain the best results for our country. This is what every EU country does, and so should we.

But our ever-smiling ministers are happy to wear the EU badge on their lapels and expect us all to accept reverentially whatever action they take to conform to EU directives. If they were capable of delivering on the promises of a better life for our families, then one would gladly pay the quid pro quo that is inevitable when one subscribes to membership of a political and economic entity like the EU.

But the Nationalist government has so far failed to achieve anything near the targets that the EU has set in the Lisbon Agenda to improve the economic and social prospects of ordinary people in the different countries within the Union.

For instance, the standard of living of the Maltese as measured by the GDP per capita as a percentage of the EU average has fallen steadily under Prime Minister Gonzi.

We occupy the penultimate place in the employability league of EU countries, and we have the lowest number of women in employment in the EU. And yet the Prime Minister tells us that, under his leadership, the economy is in safe hands.

We have the highest ratio in the EU of young people who leave school without adequate qualifications or skills. And yet Prime Minister Gonzi speaks of his vision of making Malta a centre of excellence in information technology by 2015. He wants to sell us dreams, when he is only capable of delivering nightmares.

Our economy is falling behind most other new EU members in the creation of employment. What is even worse, many of our more successful young people are leaving the country because they are not finding the right opportunities here. And yet Prime Minister Gonzi boasts of record investment in the years he has been in power.

If the Prime Minister treats our people as if they were fools, he does not deserve to govern this country, much less to win the election. Playing the EU card and scaremongering about the Labour Party’s commitment to our EU future will not fool anyone.

This country has had enough of this arrogant, lethargic and despondent team of ministers led by Dr Gonzi that has mismanaged this country for so long. Our families want a better life and also want to see the benefits that should flow from EU and eurozone membership becoming a reality, and not just a mirage. That is why they will vote Labour to bring about this change.

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