Trust is what matters, not proposals

Did the Labour leader really think that the people would be impressed by the number of proposals he dished out in reply to the Prime Minister’s 10 questions? If he did, his party is in real trouble for most are unlikely to fall for election gimmicks.

Yes, the list does contain a number of ideas that make sense but far too many can easily be brushed aside for the simple reason that they are not new. More importantly, no government is ever likely to go against what they proclaim.

For example, which government would go against the idea of making tourism a main pillar of economic growth, at least in the times we are living in? Is it not already a main economic pillar? It would have made sense had the party argued, for instance, that, if elec­ted, the new government would see what it can do to improve the quality of the services given in the tourism industry. But that is not what the proposal says.

The party would go for greater investment in tourism but in what, exactly?

It has in mind strengthening the stipend system for students. Again, what does it mean exactly? Raising the stipend?

The Nationalist Party can do with some greater foresight over this issue as well. When replying to the Labour leader’s proposal, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was reported saying that, although the Labour Party was today speaking of strengthening stipends, in their time, Evarist Bartolo, as Education Minister, had turned stipends into repayable loans.

The government may well argue that the present stipend system was producing results but is it sustainable in the long run? Also, what wrong is there in making tertiary education free only to those who cannot afford it?

The trouble is that the two main political parties are scared stiff of dealing with what ought to be among the hottest issues of the moment, the sustainability of the free health service and the stipend system. They are not prepared to tackle the issues for fear of losing votes.

The time may come when Malta would have to pay a heavy price for the parties’ unwillingness to face these problems. In the same way that Greece has had to finally come face to face with the reality of the situation, the time will come when Malta too would have to pay dearly for the lack of foresight that is being shown by the political class today.

Labour’s insistence that the government ought to have honoured the promise made just before the last election to reduce income tax shows the extent to which the party is prepared to go to ignore the realities of the situation today for the sake of winning popular political support. One Labour spokesman was reported saying that a pledge to the electorate was like a promise of sale that could not be defaulted on because it had started “raining”.

This kind of reasoning only exposes the party as being unsuitable to govern for it can only mean that pledges ought to be honoured even if circumstances have changed so much that doing so would harm the economy. Surely, people who argue in this manner cannot be trusted with the country’s Administration.

The next election will not be fought on the number of pledges the parties will roll out but on which party can be trusted most to deal, realistically, with new problems as they arise.