PN's vision of modern Malta

I wish to inform Desmond Zammit Marmarà (Sant's Stand On Immigration, June 23) that I was not aware of Joe Saliba's comment regarding "facelifts" at the last general council meeting of the PN. So if Mr Zammit Marmarà is correct, then I will join him in deploring such a shabby, graceless comment.

However, I have to restate that the MLP is resorting to misleading the public, in an appallingly callous manner. The latest closure of the VF company should not have been received with glee by his party. It is distasteful and unbecoming to see anybody using the misfortune of others to advance their political interest.

Everyone knows that there is precious little anyone can do to thwart the effects of globalisation, especially where multinational companies are concerned. Unit cost, as Mr Zammit Marmara knows well, was the determining factor why these companies came to Malta in the first place, and the reason for relocating to third world countries now.

I am certainly not a fan of Austin Gatt, but Mr Zammit Marmarà must give him credit for saying it as it is, brutal as it may seem. I regard with nauseating repulsion the politics of Dr Sant when he went around "predicting" what everyone already knew. Mr Zammit Marmarà ought to encourage a modicum of honesty when dealing with a not so naive public. Can Mr Zammit Marmarà tell us if the MLP intends to stop the earth so that we can jump off ?

It was indeed very insightful of the PN not to try to support lame ducks, but concentrate on the quantum leap that was necessary to adapt our economy from a manufacturing to an IT based economy. The PN invested heavily in education and the number of university students rose from 600 under Labour to over 10,000 now. Under Labour computers where a no-no; it was feared that they would make people redundant. We now know better.

The MLP is currently taking advantage of the few power cuts that are taking place as the result of modern living. They never say that they opposed the building of the Delimara power station. Without it, we would have been in deep trouble. It is true that an exponential increase in electricity consumption was not accurately contemplated by anyone, least of all the MLP.

Mr Zammit Marmarà must at least concede the fact that the PN, despite fierce opposition from his party, had the economic nous to invest heavily for the future. The new airport has replaced the old, which was a national disgrace. The acute water shortage has largely been solved, while the potable water quality has improved. The PN also transformed St Vincent de Paul from a place of dread to one where everyone wants to go, thanks to successive excellent PN ministers like Antoine Mifsud Bonnici, our Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the hardworking Dolores Christina.

We now have a new road network that takes you from Mriehel to St Julians, and other work to an unprecedented standard is carrying on apace.

When it comes to vision for the future, the MLP with their beg, steal or borrow mentality would have kept Malta a third world country, under the influence of pariah states. The PN opted for independence instead of integration, which would have shackled Malta to Great Britain, in perpetuity. As the Ulster constitution, sought by the MLP at the time, has done to Ulster.

Finally, they can at least allow their people to rejoice at the opening of the Mater Dei Hospital, which is to raise the standard of medical care to a level that is the envy of most European countries.