In reply to a question by the anchorman of a NET TV regular programme, the Prime Minister dismissed my comments about the apologetic tone of his recent address to councillors as ‘my area of specialisation’ – that of tagging him with various adjectives

Like anybody else, he is entitled to his opinion which I respect even if I might disagree with it. But at least I have always had the decency to shirk from any personal attacks against him or his coterie, including those not so hidden hands that seem to be accountable to no one except to the Prime Minister himself.

While both parties might have done their fair bit of negative campaigning during the run-up to the local council elections of the coming weekend, the PL has definitely been far more positive in its forward-looking views and proposals, as well as in the continuous appeals for reason and rationality by Joseph Muscat himself. Last Sunday he excelled himself by stating that the political tribalism cannot continue to determine the island’s style of governing while making the point that a new Labour government will harness the entire nation’s potential.

Meanwhile, I dread to imagine what a meal certain independent media would have made, had the disclosures of the last few days been attributable to PL councillors rather than to PN officials in a particular hotly contested locality, where – under normal circumstances – the PN always enjoyed a comfortable majority.

I am specifically referring to the recordings of anti-PL hate rants aired by the PL’s TV station, of comments allegedly made by the outgoing PN Sliema mayor – who did not seem to have much qualms about using four-letter words – as well as another councillor who was heard passing discriminatory comments against Labour voters. Unless the said councillor’s speech was doctored, he was quoted as having said: I am anti-Labour. I cannot stand Labourites. I have a phobia about Labourites.

Ironically, this councillor, who is reported to have made such comments during a Sliema local council meeting, is reported to be the only incumbent candidate who is recontesting his locality on the PN ticket! Although he did apologise or rather was made to apologise, at no time did the PN ask him to withdraw his candidature.

On the other hand the outgoing Sliema mayor – a relative of the PM – who is reported to have gone on tape exclaiming I want them (Labourites) dead was not even rebuked by the PN administration and or leadership. The same applies to another relative of the PM who will be running for a southern local council and whose public statements imply that he has no regrets about the dung hill where Labourites were buried in mortal sin, in the dark 60s – a strong hint that two weights two measures are being applied even within the PN’s own ranks.

All this contrasted with the positive news that hate crimes should be discussed in Parliament in the coming days, which incidentally also rightly includes among its amendments hate crimes based on political opinion.

Talking of legislation, I have noted that silence has continued to prevail as to whether government will be keeping its similar commitment to do the same – and legislate in the coming days – regarding the promised draft bill to safeguard our civil digital rights, regardless of whether the ACTA treaty will move ahead or not.

On a totally different level, this was a bad week for the PN in government no matter how much Gonzi might try to run away from his GonziPN tag in typical Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde fashion.

This is in my opinion a stance that is not cutting much ice with discerning voters that I have been meeting, since GonziPN is not just linked to the man himself, but is a project by now well past its sell-by date. Something symptomatic of the clans that have taken over the PN in recent years, while showing gross insensitivity, disdain and arrogance towards the ordinary man in the street; PN rank and file included. No matter how hard the PN might try to reverse the tide not only is this a case of too little, too late but even far worse – a move that is totally shallow, hollow and unconvincing, evidently triggered by pure political considerations.

But back to government’s dismal performance at the helm of the country.

Only days after we were told that government was compelled to slash its annual budget for 2012 by some €40m by the EU, the Minister of Finance when reacting to the second S&P downgrade for Enemalta in the last 13 months, tried to give the impression that the €40m had been put aside by the Maltese government – of its own free will! – to make good for a rainy day. Such as in the case of the €25m bailout that he promised to use to inject some life into the decaying corporation that goes by the name of Enemalta.

Apart from this being a typical case where the taxpayer will have to pay for government’s incompetence, as will be also the case regarding the delayed closure of the Marsa power station, by the time of writing it remains a mystery how government may be expected to absorb €25m of Enemalta’s losses.

But what worries me even more are the following points:

• The undue and unexplained delay in Enemalta’s finalisation of its refinancing plan, particularly when this was one of the reasons that actually led to the credit rating agency’s downgrade. Merely dismissing the reasons as technical difficulties holds no water.

• From perusal of last year’s 24 January earlier downgrade, one can easily recall that payments had not even been made yet for the building of the power station in Delimara in 1989. Which seems to be still the case this year too.

• Ironically in April 2011, in reply to a PQ, the Minister of Finance had boasted that most of the work in the preparation of the plan had been done and government planned to start implementing it in the near future.

• Government then had boasted that it was committed to increase the corporation’s efficiency and to cut spending that was not essential. We still await concrete proof of this.

• Government has nothing to boast of when it claims that it will continue to support the corporation. Were it to fail to do so the country would inevitably end up without any power.

• What definitely needs explaining is government’s silence when last year S&P had commented not only about the high debts that led to the downgrade but also to the very weak cash generation and even worse to the still unexplained and unrectified weak corporate governance! The company’s delay in publishing its accounts in a timely manner says it all.

• When last year’s downgrade took place – in January 2011 – the lack of financial results had stood out. With the last figures dating back to the full year 2008! Another big and major bone of contention.

My biggest fear is that further Enemalta downgrades could actually impact negatively on our credit rating as a country. Something for which GonziPN should carry full responsibility.

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www.leobrincat.com

Leo Brincat is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development & Climate Change