Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev once said that politicians are the same everywhere - they promise to build bridges even where there is no river.

One may not have liked the man, but it must be admitted that Nikita was substantially right. There is only one known case where a politician was taken to court for breach of promise, and that was in Poland. It does not seem to have been followed anywhere else.

The 2005 Budget, now being debated in Parliament, is full of promises. It will only be next year when we know which of them have been kept. I repeat what I wrote last year, or the year before, that the most interesting part of the debate is when it comes to the supplementary budget. In that part of the debate, Parliament is called to approve the miscalculations of the previous year, and approve to correct its own past mistakes.

One such miscalculation would certainly be in the realm of controlling government expenditure. This is definitely on the increase, even though we have promises that it is going to be contained. This is fundamental in the question of being competitive.

When there is a big deficit in the country's public finances, it has to be passed on to John Citizen, and that includes the productive private sector. As money does not grow on prickly pear trees, it has to be obtained from somewhere else. Running costs run. They are passed on to the consumer who may be another John Citizen, or else offered to another John Citizen in another country who has the option to get the same goods or services at a cheaper rate.

Past performance

Past performance is no guarantee for the future, we are often reminded. But when past performance is costly, there is little hope for the future. The Prime Minister mused over the things that have been done in Malta over almost two decades. It would be a disaster if nothing is done in a fifth of a century. What is worrying is that little or nothing has been really done to increase the productive capacity of these Islands, especially in a sector for which Malta is ideally suited. Tourism is declining, rather than growing.

The poetic and romantic appraisal of the beauty of our country by the Prime Minister in Parliament "of those returning home" only means that Maltese money has been spent abroad, and the one returning enjoys being back in his country. It would have been some solace to hear that tourists cannot bear the thought of tearing themselves away from this country, because they have found value for money on their holiday. And coming to think of it, those who return home and speak to the Prime Minister may be officials who had to travel abroad on momentous duties at public expense.

That hotels are being converted into flats is a worrying fact. It means that Malta will be reducing its future potential for money-earning activities. The flats may be sold to a foreign owner and that may bring a once-only injection of money into the economy. That money will not be circulating very much, as the owner would sell the hen that lays the golden eggs, and without eggs and a hen, he will try to keep the golden part of the deal.

I would have liked to hear more about productive investment and how it is being attracted to Malta.

Other services

My impression is that, although the Prime Minister boasted about the amounts going through the financial services sector, on the other hand the banks are drastically reducing their staff. It is well known that banks are the principal operators in the sector, but there is something that is not clicking. The number of clients is important in financial services, much more than global amounts managed in the name of a handful of clients.

If these services are not translated into jobs, then I must pity those who are going through university only to find that they are adding to the list of honourable jobless, who are too ashamed to register as unemployed. Alluring proposals are being made for early retirement in the banking sector, and this is not meant to eliminate those who have reached a certain age to make room for a younger generation, better trained and more ready to break with the traditional thinking in banking.

If jobs are not created, real jobs with a duration which gives some peace of mind to the young people who are looking for jobs, then certainly the present government will have some headaches about pensions and social services. The government is bent on building a bridge, even if the water in the river is drying out. Building a bridge can be spectacular and would necessarily call for an official opening and a marble slab to commemorate the opening.

But what about the water that gives life?