Comparing political notes

Albert Gauci Cunningham (May 3, Nostalgia For This?) compares today's Nationalist government led by Lawrence Gonzi with the 1996-98 Labour government led by Alfred Sant and comes to the totally baseless conclusion that the former was much superior to the latter. Now the prime yardstick by which one measures the success or otherwise of different governments is that of assessing the quality of life of citizens under each government.

How was life for the ordinary citizen under Dr Sant? Did we have a great number of families in distress as we have today with many cases of both husband and wife having to work just to make ends meet?

Were the sick in the plight they are in today? Not only having to endure long waiting lists for certain hospital services but also the ever-spiralling costs of certain medications. Gejtu Vella, the UHM general secretary, in his Labour Day speech, "highlighted the worrying rise in the cost of medicines. The union, he said, had received reports that certain medications had increased by 40 per cent over a period of five weeks" (The Times, May 2).

Under Prime Minister Sant, did we have the wastage of government funds we have today when citizens are being asked to make so many sacrifices? According to a government source, there is no money to implement the European Commission's guidelines aimed at improving survival rates from breast cancer. Then, one is shocked to read that, last year, two government ministries, including all entities falling under their jurisdiction, spent an average Lm6,300 a day on communication by mobile phone, travel expenses, car hire, fuel, landline telephone bills, receptions and consultancies!

Were jobs lost in the days of the Labour government at the rate they are being lost today? Take manufacturing industry as an example. The number of workers employed in this sector has gone down from 19,389 in 2005 to 18,342 in 2006. The seriousness of the problem is highlighted by the fact that in 1995 there were 30,569 workers employed in manufacturing industry.

Did Dr Sant practise ostrich politics as Dr Gonzi does today? The Nationalist Prime Minister ignores reality and continually boasts of the successes achieved by his government through economic progress that guarantees a better quality of life for all citizens. What do we find in reality? The Central Bank of Malta's 2006 annual report shows that the deficit in the country's current account - the difference between what Malta spends on imports and what it gains from exports - increased to six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2006 compared to 3.6 per cent in 2005. This shows that the country is not moving ahead but is falling backwards. Gross earnings in real terms by workers and employees have decreased in 2006. In fact, the Central Bank reports that while the average wage increased by 1.5 per cent in real terms in 2005, this has dropped to 0.4 per cent in 2006. Considering that the cost of living stood at 2.8 per cent in 2006, one understands why the vast majority of families are feeling that their quality of life is deteriorating.

I will conclude by asking readers to remember one important thing: What Dr Gonzi's Nationalist government does, Dr Sant's Labour government can do better. The past mirrors the future.