Much of the Christmas and New Year cheer will not linger long this year, more so if the water and electricity bills hit the consumer mailbox in the first few days of 2010. For, even though the island has not been stricken as hard as a number of other European Union member countries, the impact has been strong enough to hit the pockets of a swathe of the population. The island is still in the grips of a recession; the deficit is above the three per cent threshold as laid down by the Maastricht Treaty, pushing up the public debt even further. Exports are down and the jobless figure is up. The higher utility rates, brought about by the rise in fuel cost, could not, therefore, have come at a worse moment.

A feeling of doom and gloom, already in evidence when the latest Eurobarometer survey was being carried out, will no doubt be heightened with the rise in the domestic fuel and water rates. So, in the light of all this, is the government being insensitive in revising the rates upwards again?

Given that the economy is not exactly in ship-shape condition, should it not have waited before knocking down another level of the subsidy wall and raise the rates at the level it has done so?

This is probably one of the key questions being asked not just by the consumer but, also, by manufacturing industry, tourism and small businesses.

The government would probably argue that, well, yes, it could have, but in the end the brunt would still have had to be borne by the taxpayer. And, in any case, it was softening the blow by giving a one-time energy compensation. The case for the dismantling of subsidies is a strong one on a number of counts, but, maybe, a way can be found, even at this stage, to soften the blow even further without obstructing, or even delaying, the efforts to control government expenditure.

It is all very well for particular sectors to make their point and stress the impact the rates are expected to have on the running of their businesses but the government still has to take an overall view of the economy and act in the best interest of all. The call for an urgent meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development should be taken up to see how the issue can be handled without endangering the economic situation. The matter calls for cool heads, expertise and, most importantly, a predisposition to discuss the issue dispassionately and in the interest of the economy as a whole, rather than individual sectors.

The general secretary of the General Workers' Union, Tony Zarb was reported saying a few days ago that the time had now come for the social partners to take action. He said the GWU and 10 other unions had never given up their fight against the high tariffs introduced in October last year. If, by what he said, Mr Zarb means street protests or demonstrations, he should think again for what the country needs most is a realistic approach to problems not manifestations that often have strong political undertones.

A glance at what is happening in a number of countries, particularly Ireland and Greece, is enough to make us all doubly sensitive to the need to be careful about the way the country handles its economic affairs. Rash decisions or actions can well make the economic situation worse than it is already.