More than one reason for rise in rates

"Referring to a TVM news report last week which had quoted the Finance Minister saying utility rates had to increase for Malta to avoid Greece's deficit crisis, Dr Muscat said this shot down the government's argument that the bills had to go up because of the price of oil" (February 22). I am amazed that Joseph Muscat could be so confused! Unlike Greece, which continued to spend across the board in an effort to spend its way out of the recession (as Dr Muscat was last year advising our government to do) Lawrence Gonzi and his team, in the national interest, wisely cut unjustified subsidies which encouraged waste and with the saved funds focused on those sectors and individual companies that were hit most by the global recession. Our deficit rose slightly but it did not shoot up to Greece's 13 per cent of GDP which is bringing that country to the brink of collapse. Nor has our unemployment reached the 20 per cent rate suffered by Spain.

So to recap, the Nationalist government had no alternative but to increase utility rates in Malta, because the international price of fuel increased and is bound to resume rising steeply once the major economies start roaring again.

Also, it does not want to "overspend" the taxpayers' money like Greece did.

It is becoming evident that Dr Gonzi will confound his critics, genuine or otherwise, again. Moreover, more people are grasping how wise the Maltese electorate was to vote for a safe pair of hands. This conviction is deepening especially when realising that, though in style Dr Muscat is a vast improvement on his predecessor, on substance he is far worse.