I must admit, I am a Nationalist diehard. But then who can blame me? I have been around for quite some time and although I was “forced” to emigrate in 1985 I have kept abreast with what is going on in our beloved country. Yes, in 1985 I had to decide between staying on and remaining an active member of the Nationalist Party but at the same time denying my children the opportunity of continuing their education and leaving and seeing my children continue their tertiary education. I am sure that there are those who still remember the days when a room in my house was being used as a classroom.
So why did I choose this title for my correspondence? Surely, being biased, one must take what I have to say with a pinch of salt. Ever since its foundation, if I am not mistaken in 1949, the Malta Labour Party had become famous for mistakes, serious mistakes.
It was the MLP that advocated integration with Britain in the 1950s. That was a mistake, a grievous mistake. The Nationalist Party made sure that the proposal was buried. In 1963 Labour fought tooth and nail against the Independence Constitution as proposed by the Nationalist Party instead of fighting alongside the Nationalist government to speed it up. This mistake still hounds Labour and that’s why they just cannot accept the fact that Malta became a sovereign state in 1964.
The period 1971 to 1987 saw Labour commit one mistake after another. They used violence against Dr Fenech Adami’s family when they attacked his residence. They burnt down the offices of The Times of Malta. They attacked the Curia. They attacked Nationalist Party clubs on numerous occasions. They used force to enter the Nationalist Party headquarters in search of cordless telephones. They tried to close down church and private schools. They attacked students. They clashed with the doctors and teachers. They created one labour corps after another to try and hide the unemployment figures. They deprived the population of choice of products, but most importantly, they deprived us of two fundamental things. We were deprived of a Constitutional Court for a number of years and they deprived democracy from nourishing. But these were minor mistakes compared to hanging on to power for more than five years when the majority of the electorate, at a general election, told them to make way for a Nationalist government. In my opinion, this mistake is unforgivable.
Then came Dr Alfred Sant’s turn in government – that alone was a mistake. But surely it was a mistake to replace VAT with CET. Freezing Malta’s application to join the EU appears to be another mistake. Was it a mistake or was it deliberately planned that there was an incredibly massive hike in the electricity charges? Surely the 33 additional taxes were deliberate, but then was it a mistake? Their stint in government came to an end and they were condemned to the opposition benches for as long as there is no change in their leadership... and I am not referring to the leader only, but the whole leadership.
It is impressive how even from the opposition benches they continue with their mistakes. As already stated they were against EU membership. They were against Malta adopting the euro, claiming it was too soon. They wanted us to devalue our currency by 10 per cent, even though Sant is on record stating that 15 per cent would have been more appropriate. They were against the Pension Reform stating that it can wait another 10 years. They were, and probably still are, against privatisation. We all remember what they had to say about the privatisation of HSBC, the Freeport, Maltapost and GO. These were serious mistakes that can be classified as blunders, gaffes or sheer incompetence.
One might say, “That was then.” Yet even now their incompetence reigns. At least 14 electoral proposals in their manifesto have already been implemented. This time they admit that it was a typing error.
Surely common sense dictates: “We cannot make the mistake of voting them into power.” Let all those who love their family and their country be rational.
This country of ours needs a leader with sound hands to guide it; aspires for a leader with a vision and deserves a leader who is prepared to listen. Such leaders only exist within the Nationalist Party. Dr Lawrence Gonzi excels in this regard: he is inspired, motivated and involved.
John Saliba
Cape Town, South Africa