It's now or never!

"The whole business of politics relates to questions that people are interested in - it's useless having the 'best' approach if you discuss points that people are not interested in". Believe it or not this is what Alfred Sant said in a newspaper interview. Are we to conclude that national issues of vital importance need not be discussed if people are not "interested"? Since when has meaning of "the whole business of politics" changed its version? Oh dear, does Dr Sant listen to himself when he speaks?

A government is accountable, first and foremost, to the country and shoulders its responsibility even when "unpopular" decisions need to be made for the common good! Political affairs, even the most unexciting of issues, should not be discarded as unimportant just because they are not trendy. Affairs of state should never be shelved because they lack popularity. Politics is not a vote-catching exercise, neither is it a performance produced for the pleasure and amusement of the people.

Interested or not, politics is an integral part of every person's daily life and whether Dr Sant likes it or not decisions made by politicians at the helm unequivocally affect our very existence. Surely this is a straightforward line of reasoning. It is said that politics is the art of compromise but, of course, according to Dr Sant's adaptation of "the whole business of politics" it is useless to adopt this "best approach". If that does not spell "I'm after votes" then I have no idea what the hell he meant!

An overwhelmingly popular question that definitely captivated the people over these last couple of months was and still is the critical social pact. Most of us agree that, no matter how uncomfortable the terms are, a binding contract must be entered into between all the social partners. It is no useless exercise! So why has Dr Sant boycotted the MCESD? Why does he not consider it important to "discuss" the question? Is it not "cool" enough to be in sync with his philosophy?

It may interest Dr Sant to know that the members of the MCESD are not on opposing sides and a host of choices to be made will not all be "unpopular". The work of the MCESD members is to examine the general situation, analyse our weaknesses, identify our challenges and strive to find the best solutions. This is not only the "best" but also the "only" approach to adopt.

In the short term we might personally feel the brunt of some changes but in the long term our industry, employment and foreign investment will be renewed and reinforced. In a span of a lifetime can we not wait some five years for optimum results? After all there is no gain without pain.

We cannot ignore what the rest of the world is up to. Over the years we have not been spectators. We have strengthened our democracy, we have upgraded our infrastructure and telecommunications, we have invested heavily in human resources and we have finally included Malta on the European roadmap. Today, we cannot waste precious time. The next challenge is to train hard to qualify and compete successfully in the ongoing international race.

We no longer have any control over the ever-changing global effects. Our opponents have already sprinted. They have a good head start (Singapore, for example, has already reduced salaries and Italy is reducing tax). Will we ever afford the luxury of even considering such measures?

We have to run faster than our rivals and not stand around sporting blinkers, as Dr Sant would have it. Even civil society has a vital role to play in this cut-throat competition. We have to give an honest day's work and maximise production, we have to thirst for education and be in the forefront on the international market, we have to upgrade our services and meet consumers' expectations, we have to change our grumpy mentality and welcome tourists with a smile, we have to pay our taxes and beef up our national coffers, we have to economise on utilities and save energy consumption, we have to, literally, clean up our act and safeguard our environment; above all we have to be more flexible and blend in on the global scene.

Together we all stand to gain; divided we fall. Those who choose not to cooperate must, alone, shoulder the dire consequences of their infamous omission.

The irony is that the guilty will be the only ones screaming blue murder when all is lost!