Has our Prime Minister had enough? So much that he is letting things go, mindless of the flak he and his government are getting in return for the problems caused to so many people?
A salary plus an honorarium for him, his ministers and parliamentary assistants – in together-anything-is-possible mode – was criticised, even by a former Nationalist Party treasurer and PN diehard on Facebook, as a decision by a government bereft of a social conscience.
Taxpayers’ money is squandered on publicity campaigns to cover up the sins committed by our debt-ridden energy producing corporation. Water and electricity rates are raised without addressing the problems of inefficiency at this quango. The gas price hike. Petrol. Diesel. The list keeps growing in this area of essential commodities.
Wasn’t it this Administration’s pre-electoral promise to assess the consequences of its own policies this time while keeping an ear to the ground? Instead, it is airbrushing out responsibility for years of incompetence and continues to load the limping government donkey with additional harmful courses of action.
Had it not been so, government decision-makers would have become aware that falling living standards have been the experience, concern and the topic of many conversations. This, despite being told, months ago, that we are out of the recession. Had they been listening, they would have realised those feeling the squeeze are not necessarily people on benefits. Hard-working families are losing their purchasing power with food and utilities inflation being the most worrying. You can put off a holiday abroad for years but food and energy? These are basic needs which nobody can do without.
Over the long term, our inflation rate is higher than the average for EU countries. We also know that wages levels are below the EU average. This means a lower quality of life for Maltese workers and their families while the solution for our low competitiveness has been that of reverting to pre-welfare state conditions of employment in certain sectors. So much so that this was another PN electoral plank whereby it was pledged that this state of affairs will be addressed. It hasn’t been tackled. The situation is still the same as pre-2008 and worse.
And what are we doing to improve our chances? While our human resource is our best resource – a cliché but a reality nonetheless – and we must nurture this by education and training, we are still at the bottom of the list when it comes to comparing the rate of youngsters who finish their secondary school successfully in EU countries. We also have the lowest rate of students who go on to tertiary education and training. This means we will continue to lack a pool of trained people we need to sustain our top resource. Hardly the ideal way to strengthen our workforce and economy. But you don’t hear any of this on state and PN media.
You also don’t hear much from these sources on the reality that despite the pre-Christmas and January sales, many retailers are saying business was bad and they are expecting consumers to tighten their belts further in 2011. Job uncertainty for some and rising household bills for all mean consumers will take a breather from spending. The soaring cost of living is resulting in three quarters of the Maltese having problems with keeping up with the bills according to Eurobarometer. This was also pointed out in this newspaper’s editorial last Wednesday when it referred to a survey commissioned by The Sunday Times.
So, really, no excoriation of the government is necessary. No theatrics and no bombast. A simple peaceful protest march this Friday. The most effective lines to stick to are the promise not to overpromise and to understand the people’s lot. The present public disappointment in the government is mainly over broken pledges and the lack of empathy with the dire situation many families are in.
The stark betrayal is what matters most. If the temptation to offer everything to everyone can be resisted, a temptation this government fell for pre-2008 and by which many people have been bitten, only big blunders of great idiocy can stop Labour from gaining the support of well-meaning citizens.
The average Joe and Josephine are bearing an extraordinary burden, getting heavier at a rate undetected by any official economic measurement. Many people feel poorer and their lives are becoming tougher by the day. Necessities, such as gas for cooking and heating, electricity, water and car fuel, are more expensive. These sums are what count in the lives of many.
The challenge for parties as they consider the next election is living standards. The test the government will need to pass is: Has your standard of living improved these last years? Labour will need to convince that it will make it so. Does the PN care? I doubt it.
Dr Dalli is shadow minister for the public service and government investment.