I never recall a political campaign that was infested with so many lies as the current campaign leading to the EU membership referendum. For the MLP and the GWU, it seems that lies come cheaper by the dozen!
Here are three dozen lies that I have jotted down in as many minutes:
It is not true that:
¤ EU membership is good for everybody else except for Malta.
¤ for Malta the disadvantages of joining the EU outweigh the advantages.
¤ with membership, Malta is going to receive just Lm1.5 million a year from the EU.
¤ after three years as an EU member, Malta will become a net contributor and will have to pay for membership more than it will receive.
¤ the participation of young people and students in the EU education and training programmes is the same whether we join the EU or not.
¤ with EU membership, our University would have to restrict the intake of Maltese students or charge fees.
¤ with EU membership students from other EU countries will take the place of Maltese students.
¤ the impact of EU membership on the University is more negative than positive.
¤ VAT will be charged on some food items as from the first day of Malta's accession to the EU.
¤ as an EU member, Malta would have to raise the pension age.
¤ EU rules prohibit workers from working more than 48 hours a week.
¤ EU rules limit the number of overtime hours that a worker can accept to work.
¤ Church schools cannot continue to receive Government support after EU membership.
¤ EU membership means an increase in taxes.
¤ as a member of the EU, Malta would be obliged to introduce a property tax.
¤ EU membership will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.
¤ clothing industries (such as MP Clothing) will be worse off when Malta becomes an EU member.
¤ Pharmamed Ltd. would face problems when Malta becomes an EU member.
¤ the Coca-Cola bottling plant would face problems when Malta becomes an EU member.
¤ Magro Bros. factory in Gozo is not prepared for the opportunities of EU membership.
¤ EU membership would be a disaster for the Maltese wine industry.
¤ EU membership would mean problems and difficulties for Mediterranean Power Electric and for Medavia - two companies that are currently planning to expand and increase their investment.
¤ the D shift at ST Microelectronics would have to be discontinued when Malta joins the EU.
¤ EU membership would lead to problems and difficulties for Air Malta.
¤ the conditions of Enemalta workers will be adversely hit by EU membership.
¤ four-star and five-star hotels would face problems when Malta becomes a EU member.
¤ when Malta joins the EU, it would lose its neutrality status.
¤ when Malta joins the EU, the Maltese Armed Forces would have to participate in wars on behalf of the EU.
¤ when Malta becomes an EU member, employers would be able to discharge Maltese workers to replace them with citizens of another EU country.
¤ the protocol on abortion in Malta's accession treaty with the EU can be rendered null and void by a unilateral action against Malta's wishes.
¤ without EU aid, environment-oriented projects such as the closure of the Maghtab landfill, can be carried out without extra money being paid by Maltese taxpayers.
¤ it is possible for Malta to conclude an agreement with the EU whereby Malta would keep on charging levies on imported agricultural products.
¤ EU membership will mean that Maltese agriculture will not prosper.
¤ with EU membership, fishermen from other EU states will be able to fish within the 25-mile limit without any restrictions.
¤ EU membership would spell the end of our fireworks industry.
¤ another arrangement such as 'partnership' would eliminate all the problems associated with EU membership while not losing on any of the benefits.
I am sure that even more lies have been said by the No camp.