In 1927, the House of Lanvin launched a perfume called Arpège. Its tag line was “Promise her anything but give her Arpège”.

Joseph Muscat is promising Utopia, but will give us bread and circuses. In 140BC, Roman politicians devised a plan to win the votes of the populace by giving out cheap food and entertainment. They reckoned that “bread and circuses”, to satisfy the immediate, shallow requirements of the masses, would be the most effective way to rise to power. Joseph Muscat’s deceitful promise to reduce utility bills and thereby create a new middle class is a prime example of bread and circuses.

My utility bills amount to around €1,900 per annum. If Muscat is elected and – through some miracle – manages in due course to reduce this by five or 10 per cent, I doubt that a saving of €95 or €190 per annum is going to make any difference to my lifestyle. It definitely will not elevate a working class family whose utility bills, on average, amount to €800 per annum from working class to the much vaunted new middle class, unless this new middle class that Joseph Muscat is promising to create will be on a lower level than the existing middle class. And what will the working class gain from this, I ask?

Alfred Formosa

SLIEMA