The other day, I received via e-mail a letter from Joseph Muscat entitled ‘Four years of firsts’. On seeing the heading, I thought for a moment the Prime Minister and Labour leader was writing to me as mayor of Swieqi to inform me that, for the first time in four years, the government he heads would be giving urgent attention to the needs of the people of Swieqi: by providing adequate funds to resurface the roads; providing and ensuring adequate public transport facilities; providing greater security through regular road patrols by the police; providing and developing more open spaces where our families can relax; and by providing assurance that the valley known as Wied Għomor does not fall victim to the greed of developers.

Alas, there was none of this.

Yet again, the Prime Minister totally ignored and discarded the requests that all Swieqi citizens, regardless of their political affiliation, have been making to his government for the past four years. Instead, his message contained nothing but conceited boasting, claiming credit even for successes that depended solely on the private sector in areas of the economy developed and cultivated by previous Nationalist administrations.

Muscat even has the cheek to state that Nationalist administrations were “detached from the concerns of ordinary families”.

If in today’s Malta there is on average at least a graduate in every family it is thanks to previous Nationalist administrations that not only expanded Malta’s educational facilities but encouraged and empowered families to see that young people acquired the necessary qualifications.

Muscat conveniently forgets the manner in which the Gonzi administration successfully defended and safeguarded the interests of Malta’s workers during the world’s economic and financial crisis of 2008. It was a crisis the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes as “the most dangerous crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s”.

This Labour administration can pride itself of having thrown all forms of morality down the drain

Likewise, Muscat fails to mention that a number of the successes he claims are thanks to Malta’s EU membership – which he campaigned against before 2004 – and, particularly, to the €1.128 billion in funds for Malta in the financial period 2014-2020, won in February 2013 by prime minister Lawrence Gonzi.

But these are not the only things Muscat fails to mention.

This notwithstanding, the Maltese people know there are indeed a number of other firsts for which Muscat and his government can lay claim to: first in doing the exact opposite of what was promised in Labour’s electoral programme; first in lack of vision; and, more important, first in the level of sleaze and bad governance.

Muscat’s government has, like no other administration before it, cheated the public by favouring the very rich while excessively taxing the needy and pensioners by leaving local fuel prices unreasonably high .

This Labour administration can pride itself of having thrown all forms of morality down the drain, of having weakened the Police Force and of failing to prosecute a Cabinet minister and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff who had illegally and secretly opened offshore companies in Panama without informing the proper national authorities.

Regretfully, one notes that Muscat’s government has turned Auberge de Castille into a Labour club. There seems to be an incessant penchant for abuse in inventing useless, expensive positions of trust which are nothing more than a ‘thank you’ to Labour activists for services rendered and to ensure they remain on board in the forthcoming general election campaign.

No wonder thousands of decent Labour supporters who cherish a sense of justice and fair play are shocked when they hear of the taxpayers’ millions that were dished out by Muscat’s government to the Gaffarenas, Café Premier and possibly others.

Muscat even seems to have split his own Cabinet in two: the trio of JoeKeiKon Castille & Co., administering in total secrecy certain multi-million projects and the other ministers are left to face the music of public anger at the unceasing, different instances of abuse.

In the same manner that the Labour governments of the 1970s and 1980s were synonymous with violence, Muscat’s government will remain synonymous with corruption.

Fortunately, time is running out for the Labour government. Thanks to his reluctance or inability to halt rampant greed by the chosen few, abuse has become the hallmark of Muscat’s administration. In this regard, he can truly claim to have set a record.

Soon, the people of Malta and Gozo will have the opportunity to act decisively to elect a Nationalist administration that will restore full democracy, justice and fair play as key elements of good governance.

And, then, once again, the Maltese people will have the government they deserve.

Noel Muscat is mayor of Swieqi and a Nationalist Party electoral candidate.

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