Flash forward. It’s 2018 and we are fast approaching another general election campaign. Since 2013, about 25,000 jobs have been created and the average take-home wage has risen steadily.
The future depends on the choice you make in three days’ time
Our unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the European Union whereas female participation rate is no longer the lowest in Europe.
Other countries, such as Cyprus, are now modelling their economic strategy on Malta.
Five new schools have been built and about 30,000 youths have graduated from post-secondary educational establishments, including University, Mcast and ITS and, subsequently, moved into new jobs. Your children or your grandchildren are among them.
Malta continues to be the lowest-taxed country in the EU and boasts of a surplus in its public finances. The PN Government reined in the public deficit and turned it into a surplus. The budgetary surplus has enabled the Government to start reducing the national debt, which means that future generations no longer need to worry about a growing debt burden.
Credit rating agencies have hailed this success as a reason for upgrading Malta to a higher rating.
With the interconnector finalised in 2014 and the gas pipeline on stream, the country’s energy policy is in stark contrast to the incredulous proposals made by the Labour Party back in 2013. The lower night tariffs, introduced in 2014, helped households and the business community whereas renewable energy generation has increased significantly, reducing our aggregate energy bills.
Two new regional health centres and a rehabilitation centre are now fully operational whereas Malta affirms itself as the top EU country in the fight against diabetes. The new Oncology Centre is also now fully operational and many more lives have been saved that would have otherwise been lost to cancer.
Malta has become a hub of excellence in IT and financial services, not least thanks to the new IT Faculty inaugurated at the University in the first 100 days of the PN Government. Research has picked up pace thanks to the investment in the knowledge industry and the new Life Sciences Park.
The creative industry is booming as Valletta is the European Capital of Culture.
Malta’s reputation is basking in the international spotlight following a successful stint in the EU presidency in 2017. Our EU partners hailed our presidency as proof, if any were needed, that small countries can do it and do it better.
And you are more proud than ever to be Maltese and to be European.
Crucially, for five years now, the PN Government has shown you that it has learnt its lesson that it must listen to people. We learnt that it is not just about looking at the bigger picture but, equally, about seeing that the smaller picture, your personal life, needs to reflect the success that we made on a national level. It is a Government that is truly closer to the people.
Back to the present. All this has not yet happened. It will only happen if, on Saturday, you vote PN.
The alternative? The alternative is a Labour Government that has been big on promises but short on substance. The alternative is a Government that wants to change our country’s direction but has no idea where it will take us.
This alternative has been tried and tested in other countries. And it has failed miserably. Take Spain, which tried a Labour Government for seven years and now has an unemployment rate of 26 per cent (and 56 per cent youth unemployment). Spanish people now face a wage freeze, higher income tax and shrinking investment in education and health.
Or Portugal, which tried it for six years and now has an unemployment rate of 15 per cent. The Portuguese now face lower social benefits, higher income tax and loss of their bonuses.
Cyprus tried it for five years and now has an unemployment rate of 15 per cent. Cypriots now face higher VAT rates, higher income tax and higher property tax. And they want to follow the Maltese model.
Greece tried it for several years. But let’s not go there, shall we?
France tried it last year. And, ever since, economic growth has ground to a halt, taxes are being raised and unemployment is on the rise.
This is fact, not fiction.
Labour governments in other Mediterranean countries have promised everything to everyone but then failed to deliver.
They promised growth but delivered a recession. They promised jobs but delivered unemployment. Ultimately, they promised change but delivered a change for the worse.
This Saturday, you can prevent this from happening in our country and to your family. The future depends on the choice you make in three days’ time.
And, in 2018, you’ll be looking back to this day as the day when you decided to make another quality leap forward or the day you chose to put this country into reverse.
It’s in your hands. Don’t let the country hit the wall.
Let’s make another quality leap forward.
Simon Busuttil is Nationalist Party deputy leader.