Our Prime Minister has a great talent: he is a master illusionist. Few people have such great talent in this niche activity. His tricks and magic are hard to detect and he would be a great entertainer in Las Vegas. The only problem is that he is currently tasked with leading our country, where a completely different set of skills are necessary.

Let me explain why I consider Joseph Muscat to be an illusionist. He is very capable of making people believe the half-truths he utters and in just one year there have been many examples of this.

Firstly, Joseph Muscat is taking credit for the growth in the economy in 2013. I would remind the Prime Minister that a prime driver of economic growth was the increase in private consumption, which in 2013 was stimulated by the ongoing decline in income tax rates announced by the previous government. I would also remind him that Malta’s economic growth is the fruit of the legacy of solid economic fundamentals built diligently by the previous government. What has he done so far, apart from ridiculing the country internationally with his cheap citizenship sale for cash? His economic policy-making leaves much to be desired.

Secondly, Joseph Muscat thinks that by organising a fireworks display to mark Malta’s 10 years of EU membership, he will make us forget that he was one of those who worked against Malta’s admission to the European Union. To dignify the celebrations, he should have stood up and publicly admitted that he was on the wrong side of history. Admittedly, his dealings with the European Union approximate more those of the EU sceptics rather than a genuine believer in the EU project.

Thirdly, Joseph Muscat thinks that by putting a billboard next to the Paceville tunnels announcing that his party has increased student stipends, people are going to forget that the real transformation in education was launched by the Nationalist government. The successes, in terms of the number of students at university and the overall quality of education, are definitely not his. I would also like to remind the Prime Minister that, under the brief Labour government experience of his predecessor, student stipends were actually at risk! Did he make any intervention then in order to protect those stipends? A marginal increase in stipends will not trick people as to which party really cares for the education sector.

Fourth, Joseph Muscat thinks that a two cents reduction in fuel prices is worth announcing as “good news”. This move was really pathetic. Does the Prime Minister not realise that international fuel prices go up and down, and the fact that a two cents reduction has been possible does not mean the merit is his? When fuel prices went up, did he publicly announce the “bad news” with such pomposity? This type of behaviour will quickly remind people of the 1980s way of doing politics.

Fifth, Joseph Muscat tries to hide the problems in the labour market by masking the rising number of people without a job. It is true the Prime Minister is trying hard to accommodate all labour supporters. Indeed, the number of specific posts created for these people is impressive. But is this the way to resolve the problem of unemployment? Can he remember that the previous government managed to keep unemployment low during the worst period of the international crisis? Our Prime Minister can only dream of matching the excellent track record in the labour market of the previous administration.

The blatant marketing tactics applied by the Prime Minister are impressive. Given all these examples in just one year, let us hope that he is now tired of gimmicks. The country deserves it: nobody wants to be fooled any more.   

Kristy Debono is Opposition spokesperson for Economic Growth and Competitiveness