Editorial • December 28 2003

Now for the truth game

When it was certain, there was jubilation, celebration and mass hysteria. After a gruelling campaign, the democratic will of the people invited the Maltese Premier Eddie Fenech Adami to the signing ceremony of the EU accession treaty in Athens.
It should have been confirmed a month earlier with the referendum result. Yet the puerile interpretation of simple maths by the Opposition Leader Alfred Sant cast the die for the long awaited national elections.
After being independent for some 39 odd years, Malta took a deep breath and went in for a long siesta, content that by May 2004 it would become the smallest nation state in the 25-strong European Union.
When Malta did wake up it discovered that former ardent eurosceptics Alfred Sant and Union boss Tony Zarb, who had already offered to stand down from their posts, hung on to their reigns of power at the very last minute.
Thunder finally struck with the declaration that pension reform was a must for the country and not a consideration.
As Iraq was invaded by the US/UK axis on the false pretext that Saddam Hussein had been producing weapons of mass destruction, tourist arrivals to Malta continued to nosedive, undeniably putting more strain on the suffering industry.
The long hot summer hit Malta, with hoteliers complaining that not enough was being done to support the industry, proving that in their case, the slogan ‘there is no such thing as a free meal’ apparently has little or no bearing.
Dockyard workers were given a golden handshake in early retirement schemes amid consternation from the general public that the government had caved in to the union’s demands as the yards’ colossal debt amounting to over Lm250 million was written off by Government.
The economy failed to perform and in November, the 2004 budget revealed the new austerity and reform measures will be characterising Malta’s development from now on.
By early autumn, the impatient general public was sick and tired of seeing no immediate returns from European Union membership, taking consumer confidence to a new low.
Evidently 2003 has not revealed the bigger picture most expected to see, and will wait through next year for the crucial political choices. It will be make-or-break year for many Maltese people, especially for those in industry, big and small businesses alike. This is our brave world, and we are waiting.