Weekend membership, weakened opposition

As the Labour Party continues to falter and flounder, particularly on its foreign policy front, the words of Chris Patten, former governor of Hong Kong, sounded alarm bells about empty slogans like 'Switzerland in the Med.' and partnership. He likened the partnership idea to a weekend membership of a club.

"It's like having a weekend membership at a sporting club but not being able to be there from Monday to Friday, and not being able to make the rules about who else can come in or out and what the rules should be and so on..."

And in the understatement of all understatements, he added: "I think that's curious - to want the benefits of staying in while staying out."

Curious maybe, but it is more a crying shame. At the end of 2002, we still have to endure a Labour Party caught up in the intellectual time warp of Dom Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.

Do you remember what we had to go through in those periods?

When, for instance, the only jobs available were in the Dirghin il-Maltin or some other labour corps under military discipline?

How dare the opposition groan now about some private sector layoffs.

Do you remember when getting a TV or a phone was an expensive nightmare?

When only one point of view was heard on our state media?

When bank staff who did not toe the line were transferred from branch to branch like cattle?

When university students like myself were followed and harassed by plain clothes policemen who literally littered the campus?

So the people who led Malta then want me to fear the EU, do they?

Just listen to their reaction to the budget and tell me you are willing to trust them again, the same people who kept our progress back for 15 years... and will do so for another 15 if we let them.

We are being taxed too much, they say. Yet they moan about lack of services. They do not tell us who should be taxed more, or less, in order for the government to reduce or increase services.

They do have one firm policy though. It is called sitting on the fence.

On the EU?

Their argument is: We can get the benefits while staying out! Unbelievable.

On VAT? They are not even sure yet. They just sit on the fence again.

On hunting?

They will not even enforce the current rules, as was the case in 1996/7/8

The self employed?

This is a group they are targeting most, hoping they can win their vote once again, as they did in 1996. Do they remember how their business boomed in 1996/7/8?!

In the coming year, you will be asked to decide on whether Malta should become a member of the European Union or not.

What we have to keep in mind is that weekend membership does not even exist.

Will you vote for something that quite simply does not exist?