Saviour Balzan on Sunday • 08 December 2002

Beware of a 1996 repeat

Saviour Balzan is angered by the over confidence in the Nationalist camp and warns that Alfred Sant’s focus on the self-employed may pay dividends

The Budget debate will soon fizzle out to be replaced by the debate of the decade. It will be referendum time, very soon. Or shall we say election time.

The thing that irks us all, is the failure to squeeze a constructive or structured reply from the Labour Party about whether the Labour Party will boycott or participate in the referendum.

When you talk to the Labour Party, it is very difficult to talk to anyone.

Jimmy Magro, the Secretary General with the low profile is elusive most of the time, or better still unwilling to give a comment. He gives the impression that he is on the way out or something to that effect.

On the other hand Labour leader Alfred Sant is reluctant to commit himself on the subject and his other lieutenants are in no position to argue or to offer advice on the matter.

That there are sources, but sources as we all know tend to have agendas and chips on their shoulder, don’t we all have.

Which means after adding all the numbers together, that the Labour Party will probably boycott the whole episode. Which is bad news for everyone.

Why? Well, it is very probable that with a boycott, the Labourites who favour Europe will not bother to visit the polls. With this scenario it is very likely that the ‘lack’ of confrontation will lead to a low turnout and hence a flawed referendum.

This will definitely push the Nationalists to seriously consider amalgamating the two events.

Obviously the latter will become a formality and then it is clear Alfred Sant would have had his way.

With the election and referendum merged together, the Nationalist party will manage, as would be expected to guarantee that the turnout will be high.

It is the Europhile Labourite who will save the day at the end of the day.

It is only natural, European integration is a social democrat’s dream.

Yet, for some absurd reason, Dr Sant has imposed this formula on his party and all follow, no questions asked – even those I know and who have been europhiles.

Alfred Sant has a good nose, so he is addressing once again that segment best described as Malta’s weather vane – the self-employed. Traditionally, the backbone of the Nationalist Party and with a visceral hatred for the Labour Party, the self-employed, have suffered from archaic bureaucracy, over taxation and unsavoury letters from the Inland Revenue and VAT department. They have forgotten the Labour days when import licences were the prerogative of the Minister.

Politicians' worst enemies are short memories.

The spectre of European Union and the threat of competition, grossly but effectively exaggerated by Alfred Sant can only add to their trepidation with Europe.

So, beware of a repeat of 1996, cut the over-confidence, forget the surveys and go for the jugular, because if this election is lost then we would have lost the Xarabank, or both of them, of that I am sure.

Third World revisits Malta

There are no excuses for craters, half a metre deep puddles, sewage fountains and rivers of brown soil.

Sport cars fall into canals, burst their tyres, drivers exit their car into the pouring rain, expletives follow.

It does not stop here.

Everyone seems to accept the unreasonable road conditions, and no one seems to see a solution to the crater landscape.

To expect Maltese to be good road-builders may be taking it too far.

With elections looming, road surfacing has gone into some form of forward drive but nothing emerges to leave any lasting reprieve for our shock absorbers.

The latest news, please take note, is the protocol with the Italian government, which tots up to Lm10 million a year.

Rumour has it that the money may require the involvement of Italian road construction companies. Jolly good news!