Monday's budget was largely (and I stress "largely") unimpressive and did not take the country forward. I was tempted to say that it was a farce when I was hosted on One TV on Monday night - and night it was as I was kept waiting for two hours from the planned time to fifteen minutes after midnight. This was due no doubt  to Professor Scicluna's four hour delivery - Guiness Book of Records material indeed. And it was not worth the time. As I had said, there were obviously some positive elements and these I placed in the pigeon holes of children (and education in general) and the disabled. I was also happy with the measures addressing social security benefits abuse; although it is the enforcement which will have to follow if such measures are to be effective. From the Government's track record (viz. hunting and trapping, property development, shanty towns and so much more). I was further happy with the reduction in income tax for those earning less than €60,000 per annum from 29 to 25% - in keeping with the Nationalist Government's pledge, which was not kept. No budget can be totally negative. But then what else?

We had talk of the gas interconnector from Sicily being completed and operating as from the beginning of 2015. Are we to believe this? I for one am very sceptical after the power station debacle. November is near its end and we still have not been told whether an agreement with our Chinese masters has been concluded, let alone a new time frame for the station's completion. Of course, prior to the 2013 general election we heard loads of empty words from the Labour Party's hero Konrad Mizzi and his mentor (?) Joseph Muscat about this famous gas fired power station, the famous storage ship and the elimination of the cancer factory. These fraudulent promises were never fulfilled, however. Yet our electorate was duped by these smilies and voted for them. Mizzi's impressive downgrading in recent opinion polls is evidence that Labour voters feel betrayed.

Joseph Muscat also solemnly declared both before and after the general election that if his miraculous power station was not commissioned by March 2015 he would resign. Well there is still time, but it does not seem that this will happen. Will he resign? Of course not. How many were fool enough to believe that he would keep his honourable (sic) word. Quite a lot it seems, but not the undersigned. He will never resign, but the least he can do is to kick Konrad Mizzi out, together with another couple of incompetent and very arrogant  Ministers like Manwel  Mallia and Joe Mizzi - and now the charming Helen Dalli. But what is more interesting is a point I made during my very brief sojourn in the One TV studio, not in the corridors of course, which was far from brief. The anchor of the programme (Ramona Attard, who doubles on One TV with some role in a Minister's secretariat) was proudly flaunting that with the reduction in electricity rates for both individual households and businesses there would be an extra euro 80 million in peoples' pockets. I said that I was worried as to where all this cash would come from.

The economist sitting by my side, a PL and One TV insider, as well as an aspirant to the highest financial office in the country - after the Minister of Finance, I suppose - retorted that this could now be funded by Enemalta which was on a sound enough footing after the disasters of the past. It was also pointed out that one of the partners in the so-called power station consortium was in serious financial difficulties and would not be coming up with an upfront payment to finance the reduction in electricity rates for business. No reply on the last one. So if Enemalta is back on its feet and looking healthy why do we need our Chinese masters?And once I'm at it what has happened to our passport sales office? Is it still open and if so where? I only know of a travelling salesman running all over the world with Henley and whatever. And, further, I have only read of one professional firm declaring that it had some sort of application for citizenship. And, finally, the list of interested parties reads: Russia, China, Libya. Interesting?