I have read C. Micallef`s Talking Point of April 6, and it is certainly not difficult to understand his frustration with the PN in government.
As The Times has commented editorially, the PN is passing through difficult times and is running neck and neck with the MLP in its popularity rating. The PN has a lot to think about and to review, and it will easily find that there is no one to blame but itself. It has to thank its lucky stars that the opposition is so hopeless, otherwise it would be badly trailing the MLP.
Had the opposition been able to offer credible alternatives to the many and very serious shortcomings of the PN in government, then I`m pretty sure the next general elections would give a landslide victory to the opposition. However, we all know what the opposition is offering: just hollow ciriticism and the slogan of Malta as a Switzerland in the Mediterranean, which I believe aren`t very inspiring to the electorate.
However, the PN in government has a lot of soul-searching to do. Above all, it may start to review its maltreatment of the hardworking middle class. During the past three years the PN has forced the high salaried middle class employees to make good for the mistakes of successive administrations during the past 15 years. This it did by increasing taxes and removing children`s allowances.
Still, despite all the increase in its revenue, the government has very little to boast of. The deficit has still remained unacceptably high and this only indicates that things aren`t going to improve much in the near future. The high salaried employees, who toil for every cent they earn, are bound to continue to be sucked bone dry.
The PN in government has proved itself to be incapable of running the country on a sound financial policy. During their 13 years in government, they have been unable to register a surplus in any single year. The deficit skyrocketed after the introduction of VAT in January, 1995.
I remember the finance minister and his colleagues stating that they expected VAT to be revenue neutral. How wrong they were proved!
And now how do they propose to fill the gap? Of course by putting more pressure on the middle class to increase their contribution to the exchequer. It is the easiest way out, isn`t it?
The low-income working population does not pay taxes and gets the bulk of social benefits - rightly so. A substantial number of businessemen have all the opportunity to avoid/evade taxes and they make full use of their opportunity. So there is only the middle class left to carry the bulk of the tax burden.
The PN has failed miserably to increase the level of economic activity in order to increase its revenues. It has also failed to reduce costs and continued to pay dearly for industrial peace. It sold the highly valuable asset, Mid-Med Bank plc to another foreign bank for a paltry sum. On the other hand, the MLP has, during its two-year term in office, made a whole mess of government finances, employment, and foreign policy.
The above indicates that the electorate has a Hobson`s choice in the next general elections. The PN does not deserve the people`s mandate to govern for another five-year term, but then, the MLP does not inspire confidence at all. In my opinion, Malta has not been served well by its politicians during the past 20 to 25 years. No wonder that Cyprus, a divided country with all the problems associated with such division, has moved forward in leaps and bounds. Like Malta, it is on the threshold of becoming an EU member. However, its GDP is already 93 per cent of the EU average, compared to Malta`s 53 per cent.
As The Times` editorial has stated, the PN has only itself to blame for the situation it is in. It still remotely has the chance to take corrective action, although I doubt whether it can do so without plunging government finances into even more trouble. In my opinion the middle class voters should give a good hammering to the PN in the forthcoming general elections.