During a recent interview, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi made an interesting comparison between the present government and the Labour government which enacted a wage freeze between 1983 and 1986. At the time, the government sought to solve its self-inflicted economic problems by withholding all wage increments.

Today, on the other hand, the present government has just been through what was the harshest recession in history without having to cut wages, without losing jobs and to boot by decreasing its financial deficit. No wonder Jerzy Buzek, European Parliament president, commented that Europe has much to learn from Malta in the management of the economy.

What a difference! How can the Labour leader boast he aspires to take our country back to the system of governance of the 1970s and 1980s? Surely he realises that with all this government’s strengths and weaknesses it has managed to steer the ship steadily through the most violent storm.

Comparisons are inevitable when it comes to economic performance; the present government deserves our full recognition.