The Labour Party merry-go-round

Some people never change. I am referring to Alfred Sant and the stand he took regarding the euro. During a political meeting held in Naxxar on May 20, he once again opposed the truth and said we are not prepared for the introduction of the euro. Once again, he defended his stand against the adoption of the euro on January 1, 2008 and defended his position in regard of the devaluation of the lira.

He also criticised the positive report published by the European Commission. Another incident like the ones we experienced with the referendum results and the vicious attacks on the National Statistics Office and Gordon Cordina.

Criticism was also directed towards the NECC and the FAIR scheme. Now NECC was praised directly by European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia for the good job being carried out. I quote: "The Commission is very impressed by the work being done by the Maltese changeover committee (NECC). From our point of view, Malta is doing things very, very well".

The unfounded criticism made by Dr Sant is being discredited not only by the European Commission but also by the MLP deputy leader himself. In fact, Michael Falzon welcomed with great satisfaction the positive report released by the European Commission.

Once again, we are witnessing conflict and disagreement within the MLP core. Conflicts that, for sure, are not healthy for a political party that aspires to be in government. These conflicts are understandable because everybody knows that, with Dr Sant, you cannot work and promises are broken on a regular basis.

How could a person that has built his political portfolio on U-turns and unkept promises speak about reliability?

Has Dr Sant forgotten he was the person who promised students he would not touch their stipends and then sent them to take loans from banks?

Has Dr Sant forgotten he was the person who promised the dockyard workers he would not erode their rights and then removed their representative on the board of directors?

How can you trust a person with leading your country when this person is already discriminating while in the opposition?

Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition is continually trying to hinder the process of moving ahead instead of coming up with constructive criticism. A process that will have a positive effect on our economy and one that all levels of our society will benefit from. Once again, the Malta Labour Party led by Dr Sant prefers the technique of sowing insecurity rather then putting the national interest first.

A person who puts political gain before the national interest cannot be trusted with a country's future, especially when it is a bright one.

Such people cannot be trusted with the largest funding ever reaching our shores, €855 million. A country cannot rely on such people with projects involving thousands of jobs. A person that discriminates between his own people cannot govern a modern nation competing in a global market.

That is the difference between the Nationalist Party and the party led by Dr Sant. The PN, and all the leaders that led the party, apart from abiding by its own rules and regulations has always worked hard in the national interest and to improve the situation both for our country and for the people of these islands. On the other, hand the party led by Dr Sant, in less then two years in power managed to introduce a record number of taxes and increase the national debt to Lm275 million.

When the time comes, the PN will go to the electorate with a record of accomplishment and a list of challenges changed into success stories. Since the early days of the PN, its leaders and politicians active within this great party worked for the national interest.

The PN will go to the electorate with a basket filled with opportunities for all Maltese society and will lead our country to the highest levels of achievements. It can also boast of projects and investments that will secure the future for children, future generations and ourselves.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david.casa@europarl.europa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu