Minister Austin Gatt has never been known for his tact, nor his diplomacy. But this time round it is his sense of timing that is being called into question. His grasp of recent events seems to be a little suspect too.

Last Friday, in the last of a seemingly never-ending series of articles in The Times attempting to justify the imposition of a new regime on water and electricity rates, he stated: "We are basically catching up with time. Successive governments have consciously under-priced energy and water tariffs... Now, with sky-high oil, millions of euros in investments to burn clean fuels and upgrade generating and distribution plant(s), reality has caught up with us all."

This boomerang statement immediately raises eyebrows on three points: one, the successive governments he is talking about are ones he has formed part of. Indeed, he himself has been responsible for Enemalta for some years now.

Second, the main justification he cites for the necessity of imposing changes in the manner he is proposing, "sky-high oil", has evaporated before his very eyes - since the price of oil is now around $70 per barrel, compared with $150 last June.

Third, the government has done next to nothing in recent years to encourage lower fuel use. On the contrary, it withdrew a worthy scheme to incentivise the purchase of energy-saving white goods.

No one is denying that subsidies must be removed. The manner in which it is being carried out is the issue.

Farsons CEO Louis Farrugia wrote in a thoughtful piece last Wednesday: "What we never expected and what is so damaging to Malta's industrial and tourism base is the government's belief that it can increase these charges by an astronomical 300 per cent in one quick move." He made an appeal to sort out necessary expenses from the inefficiencies.

The Malta Employers Association entered the debate with a considered opinion too, appealing to the government to postpone plans to revise utility rates till March since the world economy is in a state of flux - with the collapse of leading financial institutions and crumbling consumer confidence.

Both Mr Farrugia and the MEA, not known for their shock tactics - which is more than can be said at this stage for the government - warned that, as proposed, these changes would lead to job losses.

While the government does not necessarily have a duty create jobs, one of its primary roles is foster a climate in which this can take place. This can only happen if it listens more, talks less and changes its approach.

Karl Chircop

There are times when the most frustrating thing about Malta is the village mentality that inevitably pervades society; but there are definitely times when this is one of its most endearing features.

When Adriana Chircop said that her husband Karl had "died the way he lived" last Monday, after his life support machines were switched off in a London hospital, people across the political spectrum were filled with sadness and admiration.

Sadness for a man who was not just a likeable doctor and dedicated family man, but also a politician who - in a sea that can be so bitterly divided - had many, many more friends than enemies.

Admiration because he practised what he preached even when he had departed from this world, ensuring that his organs were donated so that someone would not suffer the premature death he had succumbed to himself.

Respect, too, for a wife and family that never stopped supporting, never stopped believing, when all the odds were stacked against them. Ms Chircop's words could not have been more appropriate: "He really fought it, and we fought it with him." Many Maltese were fighting in spirit too.