Editorial

Given that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has chosen, unwisely, perhaps, not to drop three or four members from Eddie Fenech Adami's Cabinet when he came to form his, he did well to set up four committees within Cabinet to deal with specific matters.

The Times had for long felt the need of a reshuffle in the Fenech Adami Cabinet, particularly round about the half way mark of the last legislature but the idea had been scoffed on the grounds that all ministers were performing well.

Well, progress in quite a number of areas had stalled so much that it was evidently clear that performance left much to be desired. And, yet, the new Prime Minister has practically kept the same team, except for the addition of Dolores Cristina, who is taking over social policy from Dr Gonzi, and three new parliamentary secretaries.

In keeping the rest of the team, Dr Gonzi would appear to have lost a great opportunity of revamping the Cabinet in a way that would really have given a new boost to the administration. Maybe, Dr Gonzi might have wanted to avoid upsetting the applecart right at this moment of change but this is precisely why he should have opted for more new faces in the Cabinet, even if, admittedly, his choice is not that wide.

The times call for fresh vigour in dealing with problems as they arise today, particularly now that Malta will be taking her place, with nine other countries, in the European Union.

Shuffling duties within portfolios is not enough and Dr Gonzi's move to take finance under his wings has yet to be tested. It does seem though that the Prime Minister should have avoided burdening himself with such a heavy task as managing the country's finances. It remains to be seen whether he will be doing that at the expense of other duties, even though he has a most promising aide to help him in the task, Tonio Fenech.

The Prime Minister can of course argue that he is in a better position than most to exercise discipline and control in government finances. With the problem over government's finance being what it is - which, in effect, is worse than that forecast (not last November but in the budget for 2003) - it would be wise for Dr Gonzi to ensure that the ministries keep to the set targets. But, again, it remains to be seen how successful Dr Gonzi would be in this, considering the extent of his overall responsibility as head of government.

The four new committees he is setting up within the Cabinet are meant, in his own words, to optimise the use of resources and create a better synergy between ministries. As The Times has indicated already, this is a good idea, as is also Dr Gonzi's plan to tap in some way or other the backbenchers' potential. The new Cabinet committees will be dealing with the environment, competitiveness, social policy and national projects, all subjects that have a wide dimension.

The island needs to deal with competitiveness issue with a sense of urgency as unless we tackle the problems that are confronting industry and the other economic sectors in this regard, we will create more problems than we already have at present. Still, neither the committee nor the Cabinet as a whole would be able to tackle the matter on their own. They would need the help of all, particularly of the trade unions. And that is another issue Dr Gonzi needs to address urgently.