Problems that can't wait

The Malta Independent

Problems that can`t wait

Last weekend was a new experience. Whilst knowing that August is considered the political month of folly` I never imagined that folly could reach such extremes. I realise that the media machine which justifies the government in all seasons runs dry during the holiday season and they have to create issues out of thin air.

But crucifying me for the mere historical interpretation of the motivations behind the condoning of violence by Labour governments of the 70`s and 80`s and an appeal for these motivations to be removed so that we can live in a true democracy where governments are allowed to execute their political mandate, is quite revealing.

Clearly the political cell of the` network orchestrated this barrage to try to turn my argument on its head and depict me, as one of the more credible critics of its performance, as a perpetrator of violence.` I who have never raised a hand on anyone and who make consistent use of the media to persuade, I who condemn violence in all its forms, I got depicted as a perpetrator of violence. In the chorus orchestrated there was an element that if democracy were to be` likened to the church hierarchy he would not even merit to be an altar boy.

This despicable trait of killing the messenger in order to weaken the message has been the main reason why I have so far consistently refused to join the political mainstream. It is also the reason which` is now making me seriously consider joining it if I can persuade myself that it is more possible to change it from within than from outside.

And change it must if we are to survive. Take the issue of pension reforms. This issue must be tackled.` It cannot wait forever. The numbers are there and the mathematics won`t change. Yet rather than having the political culture` to find long term solutions to such problems which would otherwise haunt governments of tomorrow more than of today, we just turn the issue into a political ping pong. And it is not a simple matter of blaming the opposition` for keeping aloof` and` letting the government carry the whole political burden. It is the whole political culture which betrays, lies and humiliates opponents in the most unfair manner who than cannot be expected to play ball where they should.

Government on its part, seeing the political liability involved in giving its imprimatur to a technical report prepared by technicians of its trust, starts distancing itself from the recommendations of the report even before these are officially presented.

The end result is that whilst talk is cheap solutions are made to look expensive in political terms and therefore they are left for posterity to face the problem probably when it would be too late to create real, lasting and not so painful solutions.

Our country deserves better. Our country deserves politicians who compete in providing the best solutions rather than those who excel in fudging the issues and rely on yesteryear`s spectres to confuse the focus on the country`s current` real problems.

It needs politicians who accept that whilst we must preserve the social fabric that guarantees two-thirds pension to all present contributors up to a middle income level, this can only be sustained if schemes are introduced and economic scenarios are created where people are motivated to continue working beyond pension age, where female participation in the labour market is raised to European levels, and where the health sector has to be separated from the national insurance and funded separately from mainstream taxation and from fiscal incentives to adopt private health insurance.

Dr Gonzi please use your energies to orchestrate such solutions not to silence well meaning critics.