Yesterday marked another milestone for our industry. The launch of a major venture between Air Malta and Lufthansa Technik is a breakthrough in the development of aircraft maintenance facilities. Yesterday's inauguration was the realisation of last year's agreement with Lufthansa Technik, about which I commented in this column last June. It is a landmark in our history of foreign direct investment (FDI), adding another important name to the list of international businesses attracted to our shores. It is also a major stride as we build Malta into a commercial and industrial hub exporting services to the Mediterranean region and beyond.
Until now, the small domestic aircraft fleet has limited the scale and range of Air Malta's aircraft maintenance services. As in so many other areas, the available skills and technical capacity are considerable, but their exploitation is limited by the small size of our economy.
When this new enterprise takes off, Malta's potential will be leveraged up into the provision of larger-scale services not just to a major foreign airline, but eventually also to other airlines in the Mediterranean region and beyond. As a matter of fact, this venture is the only large enterprise of its kind in the Mediterranean. The arrangement will provide room for growth in productivity, employment and exports.
The advantages enjoyed by the new venture include Malta's geographic location. In addition, we offer a talented, flexible, and English-speaking workforce at internationally competitive wages. Mild weather conditions permit various activities to be carried out outdoors. The runways at the Malta International Airport have considerable capacity for additional landings and take-offs.
To clinch the Lufthansa deal, Malta pulled all the stops, warding off intense Central and Eastern European competition. Arriving at the agreement would have been much harder if EU membership were not around the corner - given that our competitors from Central Europe where also themselves on the road to EU membership. At least we did not have to explain fuzzy concepts, with the danger that this would have introduced an element of uncertainty which could have had a deciding negative impact. The government took a proactive interest. Accompanied by Air Malta's chairman and officials, I visited Lufthansa Technik in Germany on two occasions.
Another key step was the classification by the Ministry for Economic Services of aircraft maintenance as an identified 'target' sector for the purposes of the Business Promotion Act. As a consequence, aircraft maintenance businesses qualify for the attractive incentives, including investment tax credits and training grants, provided in the Business Promotion Act. The ongoing task of tracking the areas of industrial development that best serve Malta's strategy is now assumed by Malta Enterprise, which is taking on the tasks of the three primary agencies that house the Ministry's interaction with the industrial sector. All the evidence points to excellent prospects in aircraft services.
Aviation cluster
Land outside the airport perimeter is being earmarked for the further development of aircraft maintenance facilities. One possible use is for the expansion of existing businesses, particularly Medavia and Aeromaritime. Another interesting prospect is a foreign company that services helicopters.
In addition, growth in aircraft servicing will strengthen the viability of complementary activities, like precision tool making, light metal fabrication, and electrical and electronic repairs - activities that would cluster around a successful aviation sector. Other related opportunities include air cargo transhipment services and other hubbing-related initiatives.
As noted by the Prime Minister yesterday, aviation offers the same wide range of growth opportunities evident in the maritime sector. As a matter of fact, there is a lot to be gained from the development of linkages between the two. For example, the fly-cruise concept involves both methods of transportation and also exploits Malta's excellent location at the centre of the Mediterranean.
Language of desperation
As the political pulse revs up in the run-up to the referendum, the Opposition's choice of words and phrases becomes more revealing. On the size of the package, the Opposition has recently displayed its numerical virtuosity. The same people have a way with words too.
On the referendum, Alfred Mifsud started out a paragraph with the words, "I am all for a binding referendum", except that he happens to disapprove of this particular referendum. Then on this very page last Sunday, my parliamentary colleague described EU membership as a "whole-government" issue, whatever that means. For that reason, he claimed, it is best settled in a general election.
Why is it so hard for the Opposition to accept that the electorate is able to express itself on a major issue like EU membership, or that the Opposition, just like the government, should listen to the voters on such an issue? The "whole-government" ruse is another try at legitimising Labour's decision to defy what they clearly expect to be the referendum result. Resort to a fancy new phrase like "whole government" is no substitute for a valid reason why the Labour Party should throw out the outcome of the referendum.
In the event that the referendum results in a yes for membership, Labour's leadership apparently sees the following general election as the next stratagem in its bag of tricks. It sees the general election as its chance to defy the demands of the majority. It would not be the first time that Labour runs roughshod over the will of the majority.
If the majority decides for membership, Labour's leaders have committed themselves to defy that verdict. A democratically sensitive political party would take pause from the result. In any case, given the torrent of anti-EU propaganda and anti-membership venom spewing from its every outlet, the Labour Party has long passed the point of no return. It will be a long time before it can be trusted to undergo a self-examination.
Instead a Labour victory at the post-Yes elections would drag the country into a political impasse where the pro-EU majority would refuse to accept the betrayal of its verdict. Last week, I wrote about how absurd it is for Alfred Sant to accuse the government of causing uncertainty. Nothing can beat the uncertainty caused by Labour's commitment to throw out the people's verdict, and then to embark on something as blurry and uncertain as the partnership scheme. If Labour were to win the next election, the majority would be plunged into the chaos that follows from the knowledge that their mandate has been overridden by a Labour government.
Then there is the uncertainty about what a Labour government would change in indirect taxation, industrial incentives, and about whether Labour would dismantle the long list of progressive rules on consumer protection, product safety, worker security, workplace safety and so on.
The propaganda machine spits out the claim that the media are stacked against them. Those who disagree with them are denounced as "hired hands", driven only by personal interest. It seems that in Labour's view of this country, there are two kinds of people: those who agree with Labour and the rest, who selfishly pursue their own interest. The media are apparently part of a "centre of power" that is opposed to the Labour Party. No wonder there are calls on their Maltese-language medium to take to the streets: ninzlu fit-toroq.
Another part of the message is that EU membership will "close doors". Would you believe that according to Labour, it is EU membership that closes door, while their alternative - whatever it is - is the one that opens them? Nobody knows exactly what their alternative is, but it is quite clear that it is built on isolation, fear of the foreign, low expectations and a lack of faith in our capacity of the Maltese people to compete and prosper.
Defying logic and simple arithmetic, large billboards now proclaim Labour's revelation that the Lm81 million package is really only Lm1.5 million. Many of us were mystified that Labour's recalculation of the package hit bottom at Lm1.5 million. It's so close to zero that they might as well have crossed the threshold and come out with a negative number. Well, we did not have to wait too long. We have now been informed by their electronic medium that Malta will end up as a net contributor even in the first three years of membership. What a surprise!