This is a question that I ask myself over and over again. The political scenario in Malta has become so introspective, and the party machines so powerful, that anybody who does not burn incense in front of the idols is flogged and beaten. If he is not ridiculed by the priest of his temple, he is abused by the priests paying homage to the competing deity.
But this country does not need stereotypes. It needs courageous objective individuals who are capable of formulating an idea and of expressing it without fear. Let it be debated, let it be criticised, let it be improved upon. But let it not be distorted and abused.
This country needs objective politics. But are we ready for it?

The Budget
Many are asking my opinion about the budget.
My reaction is that no budget should be structured on its own, but should be part of a process of a vision and a plan. One budget should be the result of the previous series of budgets which would have built the economic blocks, expanded the social structures, developed the infrastructure, repaired flaws that develop in the system and updated all the structures and initiatives to current situations.
This budget had a specific target: the people. The people who have been bearing the brunt of global events which nonetheless ate into their pockets and their quality of life. The people who went through the readjustment process of our EU accession when we had to learn that services are to be paid for. I believe that the objective to improve purchasing power and quality of life has been reached.
Many are asking whether this is an affordable budget or whether it is a pre-election spending spree to curry favour with the electorate in preparation for the election.
The question rests on whether the government will succeed to collect the revenue that it is projecting, which is a massive Lm58 million over next year. This is after deducting the Lm12 million tax break which therefore pushes the revenue hike to about Lm70 million.
The Finance Ministry has a well-oiled machine that transforms economic activity into government revenue – I spent 10 years engineering and constructing it. And it works. It gives flexibility to government to embark on its economic or social programme. One has to be very careful though that in so doing, one does not tinker with the mechanisms in a way that the edifice is weakened. One also has to be careful not to take any measures that might seem innocuous today, but that may grow into nightmares in a few years’ time.

Landscaping
I look back with great satisfaction on many initiatives which I spearheaded during my many years in government; as much as I look back and learn from mistakes that I made in the process.
One of the projects that I look back at in satisfaction is the Public Private Partnership in the landscaping of Malta.
Today, this is looked upon as a successful initiative which resulted in great benefits for the country. On Thursday Minister George Pullicino and Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech were all praise about this project. At the time it was implemented, however, many had poured scorn on the landscaping project and had babbled about squandering of money. Time has proven once again that working within a vision always works in the long run.
This landscaping Public Private Partnership took time and effort to put together. It was not so much the concept – that was easy enough. It was rather the mechanics. It involved the handing over of government-owned and run plant and flower nurseries to the private sector so that they produce the product to be transferred to the roundabouts, centre-strips and landscaped areas.
It also involved the transfer of more than 200 underemployed government employees to a private consortium so that they can be deployed more effectively on cleaning and embellishing our public areas. The General Workers’ Union at the time vehemently opposed the idea of public employees working under private supervision (this is how the dichotomy in labour ethics is perpetuated). After long negotiations we finally succeeded in reaching agreement and I believe that what we implemented was a success.
Minister Pullicino was part of the negotiations at the time and he has reason to look back at these three years of success with gratification.

jd@dbms.com.mt