Surely Lawrence Gonzi should back up his claim that "the country is succeeding" as The Times (September 21) reported him saying. I do not see any "success" in our standard of living, which is deteriorating. I am sure the Prime Minister cannot be claiming success there.
We are paying exorbitantly higher electricity and water bills and the wage and pension rises we are getting are not keeping up with the increase in the costs of daily life. I do not think I have to point out to Dr Gonzi that that lowers our standard of living. That is no success, surely!
Let us, for the sake of the argument, accept that the huge rises in utility bills are justified because of the international price of oil (which is not that high at the present, though the utility bills have not been lowered). The fact that the government cannot absorb the rise in the oil price proves that the country is in worse straits than it used to be, when the government could afford to subsidise our bills.
And I cannot but recall that the burden which Malta Drydocks used to be, is no longer in existence - the country is no longer having to fork out the huge subsidies which it used to have to find for that industry. If, without the burden of the shipyards, the government still cannot help us with our electricity and water bills, how can Dr Gonzi claim that "the country is succeeding"?
The elimination of the shipyards burden is not the only factor helping the government. We are paying more in taxation, the government is raking in more revenue from us. The government's services are more expensive, the cost of living is increasingly burdensome. Is this success? And in spite of this increase in revenue our national debt retains its upward trend, and there is no getting rid of the deficit. The Prime Minister must have a different understanding of what "success" is.
He says only 240 of the 1,500 shipyard workers who took early retirement were registering for work. Some 900 had found new jobs. So what has happened to the remaining 360 (more than 25 per cent of the 1,500)? Perhaps they have given up looking for work, in this country of "success"!
The fact is that nothing is done holistically. We pay exorbitant taxes for motoring - high taxation in the purchase price of cars, on spare parts, on repairs, on fuel - but then we have execrable roads. We promote tourism, but neglect our facilities. We try to promote employment, but those who work have a task to keep up with the cost of living.
Dr Gonzi keeps repeating the mantra that the government "has faith in everyone", and that he looks to the future "with confidence". How about that - it would be strange indeed if he trusted no one and saw only shadows for the future.