A "miracle" is how Joseph Muscat described what he did. No, he did not transform water into wine or feed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two small fishes although, from Labour's euphoria, you'd think he just had.

As planned by the Gonzi administration, in 2016 Malta was able to register a financial surplus. In early 2013 it was already envisaged by the then Prime Minister that economic growth coming from various sectors nurtured by previous administrations and EU funding, thanks to our membership, would make this surplus possible.

What was not envisaged was a complementary deficit in much-needed natural infrastructural projects in roads, transport, housing and the elderly, amongst others. Expenditure on projects was practically halved, while current expenditure catering for, amongst others, hundreds of positions of trust exploded.

The corollary of Labour's policy can be seen in a surplus of poverty, inequality, cost of living, housing rents, traffic, criminality and corruption: nothing to boast about. But this is Labour. It takes credit for the achievements of others while masking the failures of its own making.

The news that last year Malta registered a surplus hit the press in the midst of a successful European People's Party congress in Malta. It happened within hours after the Prime Minister was snubbed by European leaders following his Communications Office pestered them for a photo opportunity.

A surplus long in coming: Gonzi's roadmap

Let's be clear about this - news of a financial surplus is good news. But the news is about one year and one year only. But no financial year should be looked at in isolation.

There is the context of the EU financial framework as well as the financial state of the years immediately preceding and following the year in question. This point is important in determining whether our finances are really healthy in the long run. Throughout, it is important to keep in mind that a surplus by itself has never made anyone's quality of life any better.

Given the role that EU funding plays in the economy of our country, it should come as no surprise that government spending rises and falls in sync with the EU's multi-annual financial framework. The last years of a Nationalist Government were characterised by heavy spending to co-finance projects.

That was not recklessness. It was being at the point in the cycle when EU funds have to be matched by national funds and most payments have to be settled. With the way things were in 2013, Lawrence Gonzi could confidently say that by 2016 Malta would register a surplus. That was not a prediction made out of thin air, it was a forecast based on solid financial programming.

A surplus that did not increase the quality of life

So if you were in any doubt as to where credit is due, think about this: apart from selling passports and our domestic electricity generation capacity (and energy independence), what policy has Labour introduced that has helped lift the country's finances?

The answer is 'none'. Actually, it would seem that Labour went to great efforts to make this one year look good, a bit like someone holding his breath in until his waist gets measured. The government went to great lengths to slash capital expenditure.

By all means, let's make sure that projects are executed efficiently and concluded on time and without any over-runs. But what the government did was to cut public expenditure by almost half. That has important repercussions on the quality of life. To give one sector as an example: think about the quality of roads and public transport and how much government neglect has adversely affected you in this respect.

Emulating the Mintoffian years: shrinking infrastructural investment and expanding the public payroll

And that's not all. While the government cuts capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure booms. Until Labour took office there was a gradual increase year on year under this heading, which was perfectly understandable, considering things like cost of living adjustments and more people drawing a pension. But now the rate of increase has doubled. Party cronies doing phantom public sector jobs have to be paid after all, and that is being masked by cuts in public investment.

Ultimately, a surplus, by itself, means very little. We have been told that the last time it happened was 35 years ago. The fantastic year of 1982! I won't mention the political heat and the stagnant economy. I'll mention the abysmal state of public infrastructure and services, including such basic things as telecommunications, water and electricity generation and education. Scrimping on proper investment many have given us a surplus that year but it didn't give us anything else that is pleasant to remember.