A change of Administration has to be for the better. After all, matters could not be much worse: the quality of our lives is in steep decline. What with the government priorities askew, a trickle of inward direct investment, suicidal traffic congestion, an archaic educational system, lengthy queues for hospital treatment – to name but a few.

... they conveniently overlook those issues that seriously impact the quality of our lives- Anne McKenna, Ta’ l-Ibraġ

The Nationalist Party talks about its “beef” but where is its heart? So busy are its protagonists congratulating themselves that they conveniently overlook those issues that seriously impact the quality of our lives. In their complacency and arrogance, they blame the demise of the EU recession for our woes. But take a look at the concluding paragraph, point 13 of the recent IMF report on Malta (dated January 23

“The immediate challenges underscore the need to raise productivity growth and further improve competitiveness. Reforms to secure these objectives include continuing to diversify the economy into high value-added activities, reducing the economy’s dependence on energy imports and strengthening female labour force participation and labour force skills. These steps should be supported by a cautious settlement of wage negotiations to ensure better alignment of wage and productivity developments.”

Surely, these serious shortcomings are indicative of a weak Administration and not the outcome of the external depressed economic climate. Each prescribed reform points blatantly at inadequate government action.

For how long have we known about the need to diversify our economy into higher value added activities? That this is still a priority requirement implies gross administrative negligence.

What also is being done to reduce our economy’s dependence on energy imports besides a few measly subsidies for solar water heating installations? Implicit in this is the dire need to reduce traffic congestion but not with preposterously extravagant solutions such as flyovers and bridges.

Significantly fewer vehicles on our roads would decrease petrol consumption (and, thereby, energy imports), increase productivity (by lessening output forgone due to traffic jams), radically improve air quality and drastically upgrade our lifestyles. But would our established political class have the beef to tackle this issue? My bet is that they would not dare to ruffle up their supporter barons, the car dealers, with progressive taxation on each additional car owned per household. Nor would they risk losing the votes of the upper middle classes who can afford the luxury of multiple car ownership.

Have we not also heard for donkey’s years about the pressing need to increase female participation and improve labour force skills? At the root of these deficiencies is an antiquated educational system based on rote learning with tenuous links to the needs of the labour market. For nigh on a quarter of a century our government has not had the beef to do more than apply cheap make-up to patch over this aged problem.

So why re-elect an Administration that has made minimal effort to address these issues? Indeed, it can only be with a Labour Administration and its strong support from the unions that we can count on an improved alignment of wage and productivity settlements.

Yes, a change is sorely needed to meet these challenges and the Labour Party has both the heart and the beef to put our country back on the right track.