Earlier this year, I wrote an article in this newspaper entitled A year for living dangerously. The main points I highlighted then were the ongoing tensions in Parliament, with their attendant consequences, and the continued turbulence surrounding Europe’s seemingly unmanageable euro crisis. It was clear that the constant internal bickering and no-holds-barred partisan politics were unwanted ingredients at a juncture when this country should be pulling itself together at a time of unprecedented economic uncertainties.
Almost four months down the line, some of the former issues appear temporarily resolved while other more pressing challenges remain open to unknown developments. Evidently, the Opposition’s strategy to unseat this administration before its time has once again failed. While it still hopes to slide tackle this government in the coming weeks, it is clear that Labour has probably exhausted all credible venues for an early, unwanted election.
In the light of all this, the Opposition’s probable next tactical move will re-focus on the economy. Of course there is very little new in this. Labour has mounted a four-year long uninterrupted campaign to dispel any economic successes achieved by this government for the country. Continuously exhorting negativity, Labour has continued to paint a dark picture while steering clear from acknowledging the harsh economic realities that surround us. Come election-time and this continuous fudging of the real issues will in my opinion prove disastrous to Labour’s fragile image as a credible and trustworthy alternative government.
Last week’s European Commission report on Malta’s economic situation and its forecast targets go a long way in continuing to unmask Labour’s unabashed fudging of Malta’s economy. In essence, the report expresses a belief that our country’s economic performance for this year will exceed the European average. These results will in turn enhance Malta’s already positive reputation in the management of its economy in multiple sectors. The headline numbers for economic growth, unemployment, the creation of jobs and the budget deficit should prove a stimulus for a continued stable and growing economy in a period of heightened economic uncertainty.
Among the more notable forecasts remains Malta’s economic growth. The eurozone is expected to see no growth at all this year! This contrasts with the forecast growth for Malta, which is expected to be around 1.2 per cent. This growth is expected to exceed the average also for 2013 when Malta will have, it is believed, 1.9 per cent growth as opposed to the eurozone average of 1.3 per cent.
Clearly, one of the mainstays of this Administration has been and remains the preservation of jobs and the creation of new employment opportunities. Once again, in this report, employment prospects for Malta remain exceedingly better than our European counterparts. Our present rate of unemployment has remained relatively low and continues to hover around the 6.6 per cent. This contrasts sharply with the EU average that unfortunately continues to rise. The expected average for the latter will probably come in at around 10.3 per cent. Notwithstanding this average, we must not forget that countries such as Spain, Greece and Portugal have much higher percentages of unemployment that will probably increase rather than decrease.
As a flip side to this, employment in Malta is expected to register an increase of around 0.6 per cent on the present workforce throughout this year. Once again this will be a different scenario from that predicted for our European peers who will not be creating any fresh employment opportunities. Rather than an increment, the eurozone countries will on average register a 0.2 per cent decrease in job creation for 2012.
Among other forecasts that prove Malta’s resilient economy is the rate of inflation that will be experienced compared to that of the EU average. The same applies for the forecast deficit that should see our country register a lower average at around -2.6 per cent.
All these forecasts are not a result of some coincidental set of events, as some would have us believe. Obviously, Malta has not been immune to the economic shocks that occurred throughout the past four years. It has been a very difficult legislature that has had to contend with a surprisingly large number of economic challenges for a small and open economy such as ours. There are some sectors that are still experiencing difficulty and it remains a priority that we adapt to a changing economic landscape fraught with increased competition and ongoing uncertainty.
Although some continue to insist otherwise, Malta has weathered the storm quite well. When push comes to shove, it will be the results and past performance that will determine the outcome of the next general election and, ultimately, no amount of attempts at fudging will be able to obscure these results!
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