This legislature has been the toughest one for the Nationalist Party in government since Independence. This administration has had to face multiple challenges while implementing a very ambitious electoral programme.
Throughout the past five years, this government faced the worst global financial crisis in a hundred years. The ripple effect of this imported instability put to task all this administration’s abilities. Faced with impending job losses, it rose to the occasion and with the collaboration of employers, investors, workers and trade unions the worst fallout was avoided. Not only was this problem stymied but the government was also able to create no less than 20,000 new jobs in the process. A veritable achievement!
Our international relations were also put to task. The Libyan crisis revealed the unstinting determination of Lawrence Gonzi to do the right thing. It is easy with the benefit of hindsight to applaud Gonzi’s judicious decisions at the time. Not only did Malta stand firm but it was also able to make a positive and valuable contribution to the whole Libya saga earning accolades from far and wide.
As if all this was not enough, Lawrence Gonzi had to put up with the shenanigans of a volatile backbench or shall we say a fraction of this group. These have consistently, throughout these five years, sown instability, doubt and hindered progress where it was so much needed. Last Monday’s vote surely took the biscuit when Dr Debono voted against his own government for his personal reasons. I firmly believe that his actions were gratuitous and self- indulgent in the extreme. Having carried a giant chip on his shoulder for far too long, he chose to kill the Budget in such delicate economic climates. His final speech in Parliament last Monday revealed his ulterior motives as at no time did he refer to the contents of the Budget as a reason for his vote. As the Prime Minister said, this is now a closed chapter.
And, now we head to the hustings. I believe my party will enter this contest with its head held high. Its track record of the past five years is evidence of the government’s solid determination to accomplish its pre-set targets even with such external and internal turbulence. Malta has achieved a lot in its employment targets. We have implemented a number of reforms that have put many sacred cows to pasture. This has of course drawn antipathy from certain sectors but the PN has been consistent throughout. Admittedly, there have been mistakes and the odd faux pas. The speed at which certain changes were implemented could have been one of the major reasons. Yet overall this legislature has been a positive one for the country and no one should doubt this.
On the other hand, we have had to contend with an aggressive Opposition that has played all possible tricks to trip this government at every opportunity. Its blatant opportunism was instrumental on cutting heads of valid people who have made an impressive contribution to this country over the years. In the meantime, Labour has consistently failed to present valid alternatives and doable solutions to the many challenges that still lie ahead. I cannot wait for 7 January to listen to Joseph Muscat’s panacea on energy policy, health, education and the general direction Malta will adopt for its economic well being. Labour promises everything to everyone even if these pledges contradict themselves. Many of these very promises present a clear and present danger.
In his 3rd October contribution to The Times, Simon Busuttil eloquently described why Labour risks a bailout, explaining his predictions of an economic fallout should Labour decide to remain faithful to its electoral promises. In his article Busuttil predicts that in order to do good its pledges, Labour risk seeking a bailout in as little as two years from election to government. Why? Because Muscat has not done his sums properly and will literally be unable to sustain his promises to the electorate, such as reduction in energy tariffs and VAT refunds to car owners, without inflicting irreparable damage on the country’s economy. Should Labour win the next general election, Muscat will be faced with the almighty of dilemmas – deliver on electoral promises and risk certain economic failure (after all he seems to have been quite familiar with the Cyprus model!), which would lead us to asking for a bailout in a matter of months, or walk the way of the Nationalist administration of leading the finances in a strictly controlled responsible manner and risk the wrath of his voters! Hardly an easy choice but one he will have to make, seeing that he has now undertaken to insure his political future with promises of the land of milk and honey where people pay less and earn more, always of course on a capped minimum wage!
I remain optimistic that at the next General Election the Nationalist Party will once again be the serious contender to win the consensus of the majority of all those who will cast their vote. My party has, for years, offered stability, consistency and a clearly mapped out vision for this country. As the Prime Minister said last Monday, the best is yet to come.
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The author is a PN candidate on the 4th and 6th Districts