Last week the credit rating agency Moody’s changed our credit rating and reclassified Malta from A1 to A2. Maybe for most of the people this has no significance and at face value it does not have an impact on their everyday life.

However, for those who do understand the meaning of this downgrading and how the world of economics and finance functions this downgrading does have a meaning, at least for those who want to accept its meaning. The writing was on the wall and we are seeing the results from an international credit rating agency.

From this there are lessons to be learnt and the government needs to do an assessment of the current situation in Malta. Personally I believe that we have to take note of what this agency said in its report, however for me the most important report comes from the Maltese themselves who, at least from my experience, are not doing very well and a good number of families are struggling to make ends meet.

Once again, after the publication of Moody’s report, what strikes me most is the reaction of the nationalist government. In simple words, it said that it was not the government’s fault and that this downgrading is due to the global situation. Minister Tonio Fenech mentioned four European countries which are encountering difficulties and blamed them for this downgrade. I was astonished, because at this point he did not mention the situation in Libya. But, the main point is that according to the Nationalist Government, it is never their fault but the fault of someone or something else. On the other hand, if something goes well it is always thanks to them, because as they like to say, nothing happens by chance.

These are the double standards by which we have been living in the past few years. Politics for the PN is a question of perception and feel good factor. And what about the timing? Yes the timing is very important because for the PN everything is linked with the general elections. Soon after the election and right up until four-fifths of the term has passed, the situation is not good and the government announces one rise after another in a number of bills and taxes. However, as soon as an election approaches, the situation improves magically and the government changes its tone and attitude to win as much as possible of the people’s vote. But a country should not be run like this - always linked with the timing of the general elections.

Returning to Moody’s report, the government should learn and most of all, take concrete actions to reverse the situation from that described in their report. We were told that “the Maltese economy is growing at a healthy rate” but the question should be who is benefiting from this growth if this is so? I am saying this because when one talks to people in the streets, it seems that we are living in a different country. I also speak with business men and they also are not happy with the economic situation in the Maltese islands. Of course problems still exist around us and we have our own challenges too, but my question is whether the current administration is handling correctly and in an appropriate manner the economic and financial situation.

Since I mentioned the finances I am pretty sure that the government is still managing to hide the real financial situation both from the Maltese and even from the European Institutions. After all, our budget is not going to impact the EU but definitely there will be an impact on us Maltese who have to fork out money in taxes and in other costs that have been increasing such as the utility bills and the price of fuel.

So what is the way forward? First and foremost, the Prime Minister and his government have to admit that we have a problem because if they continue with this attitude, the problems will not be tackled. We need to work to achieve real economic growth and to do so we need to look at our competitiveness and see whether the government’s behavior is impeding the economy from growing with too much bureaucracy, among other things.

Also the government needs to have its priorities right. If the government takes decisions not because they make sense, but rather to satisfy the appetite for power and as such try to win an election, then the downgrading comes as no surprise. This report is not the end of the world but it is an alarm that a country should not ignore. The government is first and foremost responsible, and should take clear action to reverse the current situation and re-think some of its own decisions.

Carmelo Abela is Labour Main Spokesperson for Social Policy

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