Editorial

The decision each voter takes on Saturday should be based solely on a two-pronged question: Which party has the best policies to take the country forward and which has the most able team - leader in particular - to carry them out? It is that straightforward.

The Nationalist Party in government has not been without blemish. To his credit Lawrence Gonzi admitted as much during the mass meeting in Sliema last Sunday, where he conceded that more could have been done in certain areas, particularly when it came to planning enforcement.

However, he has given an undertaking to put that right. Moreover, there is no doubt that his party's list of achievements is much longer than that of its shortcomings.

It took the island into the EU just four years ago. This did not just put Malta on the negotiating table with much larger countries and offer countless opportunities to its citizens - too many people already take this for granted - but it also provided funding for a number of crucial projects. None of this would have happened without that decision. Alfred Sant opposed it in 2003, and as recently as last week said he had no regrets about doing that. Wrong move.

Dr Gonzi has also done what the doomsayers said he would not be able to do: reduce the deficit to less than three per cent of GDP. This required an amount of belt-tightening and sacrifice. At the risk of losing votes, he pressed ahead because he knew it would mean the country would achieve a much higher aim; joining the euro, which has opened up a wealth of investment opportunities. Dr Sant opposed this too, saying the country was not ready. Wrong again.

As a result of Dr Gonzi's courage and vision, people are now beginning to reap the fruit of an economy that is on the verge of a boom, since the Government put itself in a position where it can responsibly - that is a key word - start putting money back into people's pockets.

Compare and contrast that with Labour. When it lost the election in 2003, the party could have spent five fruitful years working on sound policies. But it has been evident for some months that it did nothing of the sort. The electoral campaign has exposed its position further, revealing that it is barely prepared to oppose the Government, let alone run it.

The MLP's two central policy proposals - halving the surcharge and adding what has been described as a reception year to children's education - are both flawed. The first because it fails to take account of economic realities, such as the spiralling price of oil, and the second because the stakeholders are plainly opposed. But even worse than that, Dr Sant has been chopping and changing both proposals as the campaign has gone on - meaning the party, and the electorate, are now confused.

The Opposition leader's mantra in the past four weeks - aside from engaging in comical shenanigans yesterday and making allegations of corruption which he was forced to admit he has no evidence to support - is that the real issue in the country is change.

Yet again, he is wrong. What Malta needs is a leader who can consolidate the achievements to date, and then move forward by taking the right decisions. Dr Gonzi is the only man up to that task.