In one of his Sunday sermons recently, Labour leader Joseph Muscat was reported saying that his party's economic vision was totally different from that of the Nationalist government. According to one newspaper report, he said his party believed it was through cutting taxes that "we can fund the social services and not, as the government believes, by increasing the burden". Another newspaper reported him saying that economic sustainability was to be encouraged through responsible tax cuts.

But the Labour leader did not seem to elaborate on what, by all accounts, should be a major issue in politics today. Declarations of the nature made by Dr Muscat call for clear-cut explanations but the Labour leader is rarely, if ever, inclined to carry on an argument to its conclusion. And when he expounds his political or economic ideas to party supporters, he is never challenged to do so or, at least, to clarify the points he makes when these palpably require an explanation or elaboration.

Tax-cutting promises come as music to the ears of voters, more so when the situation calls for a measure of belt-tightening, though one would hardly realise that times are that hard, considering the queues that form outside restaurants on Saturday nights. But the general election is still too far away for parties to start dishing out promises of the kind Dr Muscat is already making. On the other hand, if the Labour leader is proposing tax cuts as the key to economic sustainability, as he seems to be doing, he would need to explain how his party in government would make up for the revenue that would be lost through such tax cuts, more so in times like the present when, following the economic slowdown, revenue drops.

The government has taken other routes to stimulate the economy, believing, as other governments have done, that cutting taxes does not necessary lead to higher spending. For obvious political reasons, Labour has been constantly failing to put economic problems in their proper context and, when it does refer to today's economic turbulence, it only does so superficially. In its frenetic drive to get people to its side, Labour appears more interested in exploiting the difficulties in order to hit out at the government.

This may well be considered par for the course in politics, and it usually is, but in times like the present, Labour would have been more effective, credible and trustworthy if it were to see how it could also contribute in the efforts to take Malta out of the recession. Only the other day, Malta's employers, whom Dr Muscat is now so keenly interested in trying to win over to his side, called for political consensus on major national issues. They feel that political parties ought to place the objective of having a competitive and sustainable economy ahead of pandering to marginal voters by making unrealistic promises. It was important for Malta to remove critical issues from the partisan agenda.

Well said but is there any likelihood that Labour would heed the advice? All indications suggest the contrary, as the party's eagerness to join the General Workers' Union and other unions in Sunday's Valletta protest over the rise in the utility rates suggests. But, in doing this, Labour does not seem to realise that it will be shooting at its own feet. It will definitely not help get the "moderates" or "progressives" to its side.