Calling the kettle black

Lawrence Gonzi has gone to great pains to spin a scare story with his interpretation of the voting performance of Labour MEPs at a recent session of the European Parliament.

By raising a hue and cry over an issue which, in his own words, had been 'rectified', Dr Gonzi exposed the artificiality, as well as the hollowness of his most recent scathing attack on the Labour Party, as the European Parliament election campaign gathers momentum.

In so doing, he has unwittingly betrayed his own real sense of priorities. He confirmed this in even more specific terms on the same occasion.

Gonzi is reported to have claimed (The Times, May 11) that Nationalist MEPs in the next European Parliament "would be working on four major pillars: work, solidarity, environment and values". He went on to explain that the government was willing to let the deficit grow "a little" to safeguard employment.

By EU standards, this amounts to an act of contempt, considering that, at this very moment, the EU Commission has initiated proceedings against the government, precisely because it has, for the second year running, overstepped the EU deficit threshold. Flying in the face of the EU in these specific circumstances will be considered by Brussels as deliberate swearing in the Temple.

Safeguarding employment is a prime national consideration at all times. The responsible way of doing this is to administer the national finances prudently as well as efficiently.

Malta's finances have been grossly mismanaged during the past 20 years of Nationalist administration, to the extent that the governor of the Central Bank has more than one occasion to sound the alert.

Apart from sowing wild oats, the government was unable to collect revenue arrears. In order to sustain an endless spending spree, the government incurred debt at an unprecedented rate. Notwithstanding that it sold more and more family jewels, its avarice was not satiated. So it proceeded to impose more taxes, surcharges and eco-taxes. It was this that has exhausted the economy. It explains why the government has been ill-prepared to face the rigours of the worldwide economic downturn.

The government's past deficit spending record has turned out to be the venom that debilitated the economy and the Maltese economic milieu. The antidote lies in looking ahead towards the change which the country so sorely needs.

Malta is now in the dock in Brussels because of this record of gross mismanagement and inefficiency - and it is this indictment from Brussels which Gonzi is trying to conceal from the Maltese electorate between now and polling day.

This embarrassing situation does not only highlight the predicament of the Gonzi administration. It also underlines the necessity of urgent positive measures to shore up Malta's public finances. Malta's challenge is to reduce the deficit - not to increase it.

Given the right sense of purpose and a modicum of efficiency, the administration could exercise more effective control on government spending. Each succeeding year, the Office of the Auditor-General reports annually, in black and white, about waste and inadequate bureaucratic compliance with finance regulations. Competent management could reduce the cost of government to a significant degree.

Revenue arrears have peaked and some have been outstanding for years. If the government were to embark on a purposeful programme to collect all the money which is due to Caesar, the nation could be relieved of a corresponding part of its debt burden (and its servicing costs).

It is not enough to have an efficient administration and a top-notch bureaucracy. Its productive forces must be encouraged to be outward-looking and helped to seek and seize opportunities of the world's markets. The living standards of our people can only be improved if the Maltese economy is enhanced.

And living standards can only be enhanced by competent governance. A government that paints pretty pictures just before each election - prettiness which nobody is really seeing - and covers the electorate with a barrage of promises it has no intention of keeping, is becoming typical of Gonzipn.

Then, with the elections over and done with, the PN in government will no longer need to impress and pamper the electorate, and instead throw back in its face all the problems of accumulated incompetence. Merely two days before the announcement, I stated on TV that I would not be surprised if pre-election gimmicks would include the lowering of the electricity bills. And lo and behold so they were! Now let's see what will happen to the electricity bills after June 6 and no election in sight. This is a game the citizen can no longer afford to let Gonzipn play and it should note that we are not amused... or fooled.

The PN in government has been hitting wrong buttons for a long time now... and the economy, our finances and our standard of living have been paying the price.

Ms Mizzi is a Labour Party candidate for the European Parliament election.