Let The Battle Begin .

Let the battle begin. We are ready. The odds are against us, but we will give it our best shot. The armies are two potent political parties who have shaped our country's history. Both leaders are equipped for the political battle. One Leader tested and tried the other completely new but never to be underestimated.

 

A leader and an army who have withstood 5 years of unimaginable onslaught but who have successfully inched forward slowly but surely, ready to take the next plunge and ready to make change happen. No one, but no one passes through all that without either backing off or becoming more determined,especially with such good results against such turmoil , for a change. Backing off would have been consequential if there was failure. Success has brought  a more determined attitude for continuation but with obvious change. Who would want to pass through that again without change, with new blood ,new energy but still focused on same principles, education, health, jobs, family.

 

A new leader faces a hardened one. He has also changed the face of his army and has brought about new vigour. He himself has changed dramatically from a potential leader who wanted isolation, being non-EU, to a leader who has now converted so deeply that he visualises himself as a potential leader of all the EU for a short period and professes, rightly so, that our country should start getting prepared for this. A leader who has shown stealth when assigning duties to his generals  and ruthlessness when the need arose to strike one off. A few salvos have shown him to be determined to reach the peak at whatever  cost. A leader with a mixture of old hardened 1980's  generals who have first hand experience of what not to be as a politician, complacent when change screams at you. New young generals are also there  who have bloodshot eyes and ready for the strike but who have to keep a good lookout for unexpected deep cuts from their hardened colleagues or now from their own leader .

 

The Battlefield is the Maltese Population. The weapon is the "Truth". Who is able to convince with facts and figures and with tangible arguments and real plans,  will win. Seems obvious enough but not so. Being bombarded with the real "Truth" and also bombarded with the "hopeful Truth" or the "false Truth" poses a dilemma in people's minds. Sometimes "Truth" hurts and the "false Truth" hurts less. Real truth hurts but it is often a prelude to progress. False truth is also a prelude to more pain and regress. Sieving which is which -black from white- requires continuous cold analysis,  free from partisan feelings and free from frivolous interpretation by others. This is a necessary exercise  needed for your own self , your family and your country. It requires unbiased analysis on your present situation with regards to education, financial, health but also how it will affect your future in all these aspects and much much more.

 

One battle cry is electricity and water tariffs .The basic truth is we use electricity for everything . It seems that ages ago a government subsidy ,which still comes from our taxes , enabled an unrealistic electricity and water to be billed .This gives us one basic fact . That subsidy can be used for other investment which can potentially generate more wealth and also sustain social problems . This subsidy which was gradually reduced ,hiked up the electricity and water bills . If one admits there was a subsidy one must agree that the prices were unrealistic . A blanket subsidy to everyone does not make sense . A subsidy to families in need makes more socioeconomic sense .

 

                         A hike in electricity and water bills which reflects prices of the oil we buy is one of the real "Truth". Which is a painful "Truth" . Anyone preaching otherwise is preaching a "False Truth" which hurts less. The "Real Truth" will enable people to adjust . Whether by saving on consumption or embarking on energy savers ,people will adjust,basic economic principles . The False Truth will enable people to be less perceptive on the need to save on energy and might not notice that they will still have to incur hidden expenses in the form of sutle taxes to make up for the real price of generation of electricity. Even if some wise guy might hint at reducing government expenditure to make up for this, the result would be only temporary as what to reduce in government expenditure is difficult to qualify and quantify without affecting the whole government infrastructure . Reduce tourism expenditure ? Stop health investments ? Forget infrastructure ?  The conclusion being that a "False truth" will have a worse outcome on the family and country in the long run .

 

                         The basic fact in a "false truth" principle is you are twisting something which is true   ,everyone sees it and accepts it , into something which you rearrange so that it appears  false but it is still there in another guise . Similarity between Vat (Truth) and CET (False Truth) . History repeats itself ?

                          This campaign will be full of these concepts . The reason being that there is actually no extreme point of divergence between the parties in question and therefore  one expects attacks on established principles with truths and false truths being the order of the day .

                         The Battleground has to be well prepared to fathom all of this information . Analyse and think .This type of decision will affect lives for the next five years . Democracy yearns for change but definitely not change for the sake of change .Democracy is there to uphold people,s lives not the other way round .

 

Let the battle begin.

 

Michael