It is without doubt that the weeks since the election of the new Lawrence Gonzi administration have ushered in a sort of political lull.
Forgetting the Labour leadership battle which has dominated much of the political news so far, it has been arguably a silent two months since Gonzi regained his premiership, and the uncertainty underlining this period is cause for concern.
Save for his tour of the MEPA offices, which now fall under his remit, Gonzi himself has been largely absent.
It was a strange announcement of the prime minister’s to herald the upcoming tabling of a Freedom of Information Bill in parliament, without giving any hard, political information on this very important bill.
It seems as if the government has been feeling at liberty at being economical in information pending the Freedom of Information legislation – an irony which only serves to highlight the uncertainty of times like these. The appointment of a new communications officer, namely former PN information secretary Gordon Pisani to take over his predecessor Josephine Vassallo does not necessarily translate itself into more transparency, but rather more diabolical spin and control of government news.
Contrary to his self-proclaimed maxim of increasing efficiency, Gonzi’s ministerial rejuvenation has brought with it a disassembling of government’s previous authority. Parliamentary secretaries today are conducting business on behalf of the prime minister, leaving us to wonder whether Dr Gonzi has been a tad too inconspicuous in the last weeks.
Comments by the no-nonsense John Dalli, the new social policy minister advocating a need for a social pact, contrast dramatically with finance minister Tonio Fenech’s apparent disregard: surely, fruit of a rudderless policy overall.
We are left to wonder who is calling the shots here.
Economically, the future is a question mark. Beyond Gonzi’s wishful vision for economic security, we are facing an uncertain global tide of rising costs and prices. The rise in the price of food and the ongoing debate about energy security (Malta so far continuously fails to harness a credible alternative energy policy) are pressing issues the country must deal with judiciously. Rising prices on these two fronts are destabilising factors for Gonzi’s vision towards Malta’s economic sustainability; they are the first riders in an inflationary pick-up, which can lead to workers demanding higher wages to cope.
The changeover to the euro may have indeed been a smooth one, but the public is left to wonder how it will cope with the cost of living now that price controls were lifted in March. The need for a price monitoring body that surveys the movement of prices is urgently required, if anything to instil public confidence in the market. If international wage growth accelerates as a result of the soaring price of cereals and fuels, it is very likely that Malta’s import bill increases as a result.
But the real issue that needs some attention is getting back to business.
It appears that the administration has not quite measured the influence that the lack of resolve on consumer confidence has. And more importantly, the indecisiveness on certain issues such as ‘registration tax’ on imported cars that this can have on cars and the monopolistic car import industry. The government previously sent a significant message that the overhaul of this registration tax system was impending, with Tonio Fenech in the driving seat for change. And yet we have had no news to put us at rest over whether government’s intentions are as serious as required on this promise.
Dr Gonzi and his ministers need to send a clear message that government is functioning.