The only question that can be asked, before you state your preference next Saturday but one, is "which of the two party leaders is fit to govern?"

I'm not talking about physical fitness here - by the end of the campaign both of them are going to feel as if they've been through the wringer. I'm talking about political fitness for purpose. Has Gonzi got the credentials to run this rock or does Sant deserve being given the thumbs up?

Let's have a quick look at this, shall we?

Gonzi has the benefit of a stretch in Government that has been positive, which no-one but the most obtuse of commentators would argue. What has he been lambasted with by Sant? Corruption is a word that trips merrily from Sant's lips, though this has now worn thin to the extent that no-one is giving a toss about it, as confirmed by MaltaToday. The argument has become even thinner by Sant's refusal (inability?) to give details, which means that either he's bluffing or, worse, he knows something and is risking being made an accomplice by his failure to report to the appropriate authorities.

Oh, sorry, I forgot: reporting to the authorities is just a smoke-screen. The only way according to Labour is to sling mud, in the knowledge that some of it will stick - never mind that there's no substance to it. Remember what happened with Michael Frendo in '96? No case to answer, but that didn't stop the MLP from maligning him every which way from Sunday. Don't be surprised if some other such bunny is pulled from the MLP's collective hat soon, just be surprised if there's anything in it.

What else can you think of which shows that Gonzi is unfit to govern? That he didn't re-shuffle his Cabinet? Big deal. He'll do it when he's elected - it's not as if the country is in the doldrums, after all, and there is such a thing as loyalty. Anything else? Not that I can think of, really, except for a couple of hundred vulgar students and even more vulgar t-shirts, which latter moved L-Orizzont to picture one, with breathtaking hypocrisy, on its front page. Wow, a real reason not to vote for Gonzi, that.

On the other hand, what evidence do we have that Sant is fit to run our lives?

Take a look at his interviews recently. On the Sunday Times (you can actually see and hear him) he avoided the questions, relied on the "everyone's talking about it" line (does he think he's the Midnight Cowboy or something?) and generally waffled. More dangerously, he promised to fill the surcharge hole and compensate for the tax-break on overtime "through the budget", which is far as I am concerned is code for "it's coming out of your taxes, mate". The surcharge deficit will be filled, I'm morally convinced, by a hike in VAT. Apparently, another 2% will cover it.

Then we had the spectacle on BondiPlus of Sant pulling a U-turn of cosmic proportions on this mildly insane Repeater Class idea. Isn't it time the guy made his mind up? And hasn't anyone told him that the National Curriculum is there for a reason?

While on the subject of BondiPlus, don't you think supercilliousness of the type Sant exhibits is enough to make a saint lose his rag? It's not surprising that people are moved to jeer him and snap at him - I'm only glad I don't have to earn a living by interviewing him, because my patience just won't take that much stretching.

Let's move along, shall we? Is someone who can't even organise a day trip to Maghtab fit to run the country? And what about the "computer malfunction" that led to their Manifesto being misprinted? Come on, man, get it right why don't you? Is this the way we're going to be governed, policies created on the hoof and "the computer says no" becoming the reason why things happen or don't happen? While on the subject of Maghtab, has anyone bothered to tell you that a golf course there isn't on the cards, unless you give the private sector massive (and I mean massive) incentives to take it on? You don't just lay down some grass, drill some holes and stick a flag in them, you know.

And are you still maintaining that you can renegotiate the Acquis? You can't, even though you think that just because you say you can do something, it will happen. This is the real world, not a novel, where the plot can be twisted to suit the author's convenience.

So there you have it, a quick look at the contenders. It's up to you now: vote Blue or vote Red or vote Green, it's your responsibility. Just remember that unless the Greens multiply their vote by something like ten times (yeah, and pigs will fly), they don't have a snowball's (which they don't) so a vote for them is effectively a vote for the main contender you DON'T want elected.

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