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Alfred Sant knows it is his third and last chance. He lost the 1998 election and the 2003 election: this time round he cannot afford to lose.
Under constant pressure from his aides to appear as someone with a list of ideas, he unleashed what many insiders see as yet another ‘boomerang’ proposal. Talking to MaltaToday, he said he preferred to speak the truth than appear ‘just chummy’ with the electorate. The boomerang proposal he calls depreciation. Others prefer to call it by its real name: devaluation. The idea is not unspoken of in circles of economists, but it is a taboo subject in the world of politics.
Sant’s proposal has provided a reprieve to the Nationalist party to hit back in the face of criticism for a sloppy first year in Europe. Yet, it is not only the PN that is critical of Alfred Sant – MLP party officials have told MaltaToday that devaluation cannot be sold to the electorate: “All the Nationalists have to do is say that devaluation is about taking away 10cents from every Lm1 you earn.”
Labour officials are in a quandary, they know that they have to come up with new ideas but are aware that the new ideas needed for Malta are linked to reforms which hurt people. In a wide-ranging interview with MaltaToday, Alfred Sant brushes aside questions about Mintoff and himself and continues to insist that the way forward in politics is to say the truth even if there is a price to pay.
See interview
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