Summer is here with its usual vengeance. Schools, government departments, the courts of law and Parliament slow down, conditioned by the merciless heat. At the same time, other elements of social life blossom. For eight weeks, the sound of fireworks will dominate our evenings, bringing joy or despair, depending on your views on the matter.

The festa season also translates in one engagement after another for many. From receptions and marches organised by band clubs, to High Mass and processions, there is hardly an evening or weekend which is festa-free. Some of us complain but it is undoubtedly an ideal opportunity to maintain contact with our communities.

It was during one such social event thatI met an old school friend who spoke about inertia.

Now there is a simple way to explain inertia for those who, like me, are somewhat challenged in comprehending the laws of physics.

Imagine a ship surging forward on the high seas. If, for some reason, the engines suddenly stop working, the ship will continue moving forward in the same direction.

The forward motion will continue until other forces, such as friction, force the vessel to stop or change direction. My friend compared this to the state of our economy.

Credit to this government, no anchors were thrown overboard to stop our tourism industry, financial services and other sectors from moving forward. But it is equally true that no new impetus was given to these sectors. There is a distinct lack of initiative, innovation and new ideas coming from the part of government. Except for the sale of citizenship, admittedly…

This government was fortunate in that, so far, it has sailed in relatively calm economic waters.

The price of oil is today a fraction of what it was five years ago. The economic state of most European countries, of the United States and other economic powers is healthier than it was in the past years. All this translates into less friction in our economy.

The repercussions of our financial services suffering a major blow are too devastating to contemplate

But we cannot assume that this state will continue forever. For two reasons. Firstly, because inertia will only take us so far. Secondly, because there are other forces in play over which we have limited or no control, forces that can cause our ship to stall.

For instance, pressure is mounting on financial jurisdictions such as ours to change and harmonise tax laws. As EU members, the United Kingdom and Malta resisted these pressures, arguing that a one-size-fits-all tax regime will work against European interests.

Following Brexit, we now have to fight this battle on our own. The repercussions of our financial services suffering a major blow are too devastating to contemplate. But contemplate we must.

We must fight to resist all attempts that can lead us to lose our competitive advantage in this sector. At the same time, we need to explore other options of retaining some form of advantage should we be forced to change our laws.

We should also be looking at attracting new business sectors to Malta to make up for any loss we suffer in our economic sectors and to ensure that Malta remains a relevant economy in today’s world.

Most of the industries we have today, providing jobs to tens of thousands of people, flourished over the past two decades, largely thanks to the foresight of the governments of those days that saw an opportunity and seized upon it: the Freeport, the maritime industry, the e-gaming industry, aircraft maintenance, pharma manufacturing, microelectronics, just to name a few. Where is that foresight today? Which are the new industries of tomorrow?

This government prides itself on its track record in the energy sector. However, with every day that passes, we are finding out that the steps taken by this government in this crucial sector are hardly praiseworthy. Consider these simple facts.

Over the past 12 months, 70 per cent of our energy requirements were provided in a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly manner by the interconnector. The remaining energy was mainly provided by the BWSC plant, which the government inexplicably sold off to a Chinese State-owned company.

On the other hand, the government has committed itself to buy all, or nearly all, of its energy needs from the same BWSC plant it just sold and from the new power station once it becomes operational.

This will effectively mean that the interconnector will be mothballed or used very sparingly. It will probably also mean we will have to buy electricity at more expensive rates than will be available through the European grid.

These anchors can seriously damage our economy. To what extent we do not yet know because, to date, the government has refused to publish the relevant contracts that contain the detail. It is indeed unfortunate that the only major capital project initiated by this government can end up damaging rather than helping our competitiveness.

Speaking of capital projects, the government has fallen way behind schedule in the utilisation of the €1 billion EU funds. At this rate, we can assume that a significant percentage of those funds are not going to be absorbed.

These funds are meant to render us as a country and the economy more fighting fit. To help us stand firmer on our own feet.

The government is, however, more keen on increasing its recurrent expenditure than on focusing on capital expenditure. This is a short-term vision the government hopes can help win it the next election but, in truth, can spell long-term trouble for Malta.

Mario de Marco is deputy leader of the Nationalist Party.