Much ado about nothing

This is a government plagued by confusion of perspectives and priorities.

The papers, TV and radio have been reporting on talks within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and on the conflicts between the social partners as they struggled to reach agreement over the fate of public holidays. All of us also witnessed the fixed, strained smile of the Prime Minister scurrying between the aggrieved parties - drama and suspense, will they, won't they...? And what is it all about? Saving about €6 million and "improving productivity".

All these weeks of social upheaval and unrest, demonstrations and discontent, which have united the unions in strong opposition to the government proposals, just to save an amount which hardly even dents the budget deficit this spendthrift government is running!

Workers in alliance with the middle classes were up in arms at the injustice; hundreds of man hours were wasted, when such forces should have been concentrating on the real issues rather than an artificial argument resulting from a wrong analysis and theoretical projection.

If the government had its priorities right it would concentrate on reducing the rising budget deficit created by its own short-sighted policies, items such as the €40 million odd increase, as against the €9 million paid in the past, on sugar subsidies and increases, again running into millions of euros, in the price of beef and grains.

This means that Malta, as a nation, is paying more for sugar than any other country in the EU. All these items directly affect the vital tourism industry, increasing the costs of the establishments which service tourists. The only effect must be higher prices for the tourists which, in turn, reduces Malta's competitiveness in the cut-throat world tourism market.

If the government could view things in perspective it would not fiddle around with confrontational schemes that penalise sections of the populace and would be looking for unifying factors. Instead it seems hell bent on pursuing division and making more "them and us" situations.

Unfortunately for the government, the Nationalist Party - "us" - is rapidly getting smaller and the opposition - "them" - is growing fast as they pick on everyone but themselves looking for scapegoats for the economic mess they have brought about.

The government should address the problem of other price increases: in tap and bottled water, soft drinks, juices, coffee, tea, spirits, bread, breakfast cereals, flour, cheese, tinned tuna and corned beef, lamb, fillet, sirloin, strip loin, cube roll, rump steak and knuckles.

These all reduce the spending power of our families which will, in turn, sabotage any consumer-based economic upturn and continue to create division and unrest. So our nation's economy is living on borrowed time. This has happened despite the firm, written and published promise by MEP Simon Busuttil that food prices would fall after EU membership.

The government should focus on the growing crisis in the poultry industry and the livestock sector. The MLP has already tabled a motion this year, for the second year running, to discuss the national livestock crisis which could cost many more jobs. So far this has been ignored as the government pursues its great debate on public holidays.

The poultry industry is in danger of collapse and the statistics quoted by Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino showing a drop in production of 18.7 per cent do not tally with my research which reveals a destructive cut of 40 per cent.

Does the government even know how many more jobs will be lost if the livestock industry collapses? Does it know what this will cost the taxpayer and by how many millions of liri it will increase the budget deficit which the EU demands should be reduced?

This government has all its priorities and perspectives wrong and because it is not concentrating on the real issues facing the nation it could soon disappear into the ever growing "black hole" of its own making.

Mr Farrugia is the Labour opposition's spokesman for agriculture, fisheries and rural development.