Overcoming growing pains

I am astounded by a number of young Maltese people who say they will not vote at the next election. In a huge country like the US this disposition may be understandable as political decisions rarely affect the private citizen. Yet in the case of Malta, I would quote E.F. Schumacher by saying that "small is beautiful" and, as MEP Joseph Muscat recently stated, politically this is to our advantage. Political apathy in this country is dangerous as unfortunately politics still touch upon almost every facet of our life.

This is not necessarily all bad for now. Given that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has promised investment to so many people in different spheres of society then he must be confident of delivering many improvements within the next year. All concerned must take his lead to progress further and achieve higher. There is much that too many of us take for granted on this splendid isle, although admittedly there is a lot that still remains to be achieved.

I also wish to laud our Prime Minister for his vision of Malta as a potential IT and financial services centre of excellence in the Mediterranean. I believe that if Dr Gonzi uses the EU funds properly and on winning the next election replaces half of the Cabinet he inherited with good people he usually likes to surround himself with, then he has the potential of becoming this country's best ever Prime Minster and changing the face of Malta definitively.

He must not squander this chance and be single-minded from this point on. After years in power the Nationalist Party is unfortunately not free of sycophants and egoistic money-grabbing yes-men who create huge problems in a number of ministries. Therefore I think that Dr Gonzi's move to surround himself with achievers like Dolores Christina and Tonio Fenech has been a masterstroke. As a certain minister who has been in the limelight of late for all the wrong reasons indicated, political popularity does not ensure efficiency and results.

Despite this, the Nationalist Party's sense of direction remains undiminished. There can be no doubt that the Prime Minister is inspired. Around him Louis Galea, Ninu Zammit and Austin Gatt form an iron guard that are pointedly steering Malta towards an efficient and educated services-based economy. However, if the PN wins the next election, a number of other ministers need to perform or please go. Real PN supporters pride themselves on excellence and moving Malta closer to the zenith of Western civil society where one can freely attain his true potential. I would appeal to Prime Minister Gonzi not to get cut off from the man in the street and to keep his ear to the ground and remain true to the Christian Democrat principles that his party has endorsed for so long and which have brought the country so far politically and structurally in the space of a decade and a half. Then maybe a number of Malta's growing pains will truly become a thing of the past.