Do not blame the EU!

Who can blame you if you pause and wonder as you factor in the following as the run up to June 6 fast approaches?

a) The Prime Minister's admission that we have had a steeper rise in the cost of living than most other EU member states.

b) That the government has only recently acknowledged the need for mandatory burden sharing on illegal immigration as long proposed by the Labour Party (PL).

c) Its reluctance to go for either an economic stimulus package or even a corrective mini budget.

d) Our poor track record in the environmental and Mepa sectors.

e) The way our utility rates remained sky high while others elsewhere have been substantially reduced.

f) Lawrence Gonzi's joining the ranks of fellow ministers in rubbishing and ignoring National Audit Office reports.

g) The government's insensitivity for the rights of minority groups.

h) Dubious tendering processes even when citizens' health is at stake, such as in the case of the new Delimara power plant.

Should we blame the EU for all this or is all this inefficiency, incompetence, arrogance and political impotence the result of the dysfunctional GonziPN?

Regardless of how many uncosted projects without any time schedules might be announced until June 6 by virtually the whole Cabinet and their eminent peers, when Maltese citizens will decide how and/or whether to vote within a couple of weeks' time, they will be keeping firmly in mind: the need for a strong and firm leadership; the way Maltese civil society and NGOs have been treated like outsiders in the decision-making process; the government's shyness and lack of resolve in proving to be a leader rather than a follower within EU structures and, ultimately, that, in strict conformity with past performance, since the 2008 general election, the Gonzi Administration has proved to be, once again, one based on broken promises and bad decisions linked to our role within the EU.

With this in mind I sincerely believe that if there is anyone that needs to be blamed it is Dr Gonzi as Prime Minister rather than the EU itself.

This campaign might not have been short of loose cannon but there was something worrying indeed, eerie and weird on the Nationalist front. That no matter how groomed the MEP wannabes might have been in public speaking and in articulating their campaigns, a good number of them have taken public stands and positions diametrically opposed to those of their own government - on illegal immigration, on the car registration issue, on waste management, on such projects as the Għadira Road, on incineration, Mepa-approved projects etc.

This is the biggest vote of no confidence that Dr Gonzi could have ever had, by his own motley crew!

Come June 6, voters must make their choices wisely and judiciously.

Nobody should be surprised if national issues have dominated our Euro election campaign in both 2004 and this time round. This has now grown to be a characteristic in virtually every EU member state.

But, on the other hand, as the PL made it clear in its fresh and innovative manifesto, we as European citizens must increasingly believe that economic, social and environmental issues, such as the challenges of the credit crunch, the widening social divide, the overall economic slowdown, energy security and climate change, do and must have a European dimension.

We expect vigour, commitment and competence from those who will be representing us in Brussels and Strasbourg. They must be candidates with a real European vision rather than one cooked up by handsomely-paid spin doctors.

They must work much harder at ensuring that a Social Europe will become a reality and not just remain a meaningless and hollow mantra.

People expect the promises in the respective manifestos to be turned into something concrete rather than remaining mere slogans and/or fanciful buzz words.

This is why I consider Joseph Muscat to have been perfectly in sync when he recently claimed that the EU was not just a destination but a starting point for Malta. Unless we turn issues and key concerns that impact on our everyday life into concrete policy commitments, rather than empty political promises, people will lose faith in the European project itself.

I personally also attribute certain people's indifference towards the European Parliament to ignorance of its actual powers. Pity that this aberration was never corrected.

Nevertheless, without sound national leadership all these noble goals will remain a pipe dream. Especially when Dr Gonzi has morphed from "the solution" into the major problem that the island has right now.

Mr Brincat is a Labour member of Parliament.

brincat.leo@gmail.com, www.leobrincat.com