The government will today be presenting its plans for the coming year.

It is budget day, and although over the past years much of the aura surrounding the event has dwindled, it is still a big day for the country.

Ever since the government started presenting, early in summer, what is known as a pre-budget document that highlights the way forward and leads to a healthy discussion by all the stakeholders, much of what will be presented tonight will not come as a surprise – at least to the unions and employers who have played an important part in the discussion process.

In fact, the budget is no longer an event the government does on its own in darkened offices. It has become a national exercise that involves the unions and the employers, as well as the public in general. Everyone puts in ideas, discusses, opposes, agrees, but then of course it is the government which must put everything together and come up with the plan for the next year.

There will be, of course, people who will not be happy with the outcome. But on the whole it must be admitted that at this point in time one cannot expect goodies because these will only serve to make the prevailing situation worse.

It is not an easy time. The upheaval that has been brought about by the international recession has led to diversions that we could have done without. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has gone on record saying that, for example, the government had to shelve its work to bring down the deficit and public debt and, instead, concentrate to maintain unemployment as low as possible.

Workers and their families come first, Dr Gonzi said, and in this case the government did the right thing. Of course, the opposition accuses the government of failing in its financial strategies, but what would the Labour Party have said if the number of unemployed people increased by the thousands? It would have forgotten about the improvement in the deficit and public debt figures and attacked the government on the unemployment figures.

The cost of living adjustment mechanism has grabbed many headlines in the run-up to tonight’s budget, and the question as to whether this system is still logical today has also been raised.

But although workers do look forward as to how much they will get extra per week – although it is never enough to make up for the extra expenses incurred and will itself lead to further increases in costs as businesses have their own extra expenditures to contend with – the budget is a much more complicated issue.

Tonight’s presentation will establish the way forward for the government and the country. It will be based on past achievements and the correction of plans that did not turn out to be so successful.

What is important in any analysis is the consideration that the government has the best position to see the overall picture. While others may have their own particular niche and, rightly so, work hard to see it progress, the government must put all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together and come up with measures in the best interest of the nation.

If one piece is beneficial to a particular sector but will ruin the whole picture, then the government should be responsible enough not to use that piece.

This is what the budget is all about, more so this year as the country looks at 2010 as the year when it puts the difficulties experienced in the past 12 months or so behind to look forward to a better future.