Comment of the evening

Posted by Bubu:

I very rarely have any kind of regard for these polls, especially when they are held at such a relatively early stage and when they have such a large margin of error and a large percentage of undecideds.

Had I been included in this survey, my answer would have been a decided vote for PN and I would like to explain why this is, not to preach to the converted, but in a bid to perhaps influence at least a few of those undecideds who regularly visit this blog.

I work in IT and telecommunications. That fact alone should cue anybody who has kept tabs on the country’s development over the last couple of decades that at the moment I could not be better placed with my profession.

I have chosen to work in Malta for reasons of family and because I consider the Maltese lifestyle to be one of the best in Europe, despite what the Maltese themselves say.

I could have found jobs anywhere in the EU, but it was my choice whether to accept them or not. That alone is a gift given to me and all others like me through the policies of the PN in government – and, may I add, a gift very nearly snatched away from me by the PL.

Given the industry in which I work, I have frequent contact with non-Maltese CEOs and executives who have decided to relocate their businesses to Malta. In very many cases they have relocated even their families so as to better manage their business – no small step to take.

Without exception, all those to whom I have spoken have nothing but praise for the ICT business environment in Malta and they are all convinced that they made the right move, that it was the *best* step they could have taken.

They all cite long lists of reasons why they made their choice, ranging from tax breaks, reduction in bureaucracy, the economic environment conductive to reception of foreign businesses, the advanced state of IT facilities so basic to their operation, the high quality and flexibility of Maltese IT graduates. In most cases youngsters just out of university are employed with no need of further training because they have such a good background.

These are not dry statistics overheard on the TV or skimmed through in the newspaper (e-paper!). These are real life testimonials of people who, after in-depth consideration, have entrusted their lives, their livelihoods and those of their employees to the coherent policies of the Nationalist government.

When you are confronted with such a direct confirmation of the results that the government has obtained, it is hard to ignore or explain it away.

It becomes patently obvious that none of this is a coincidence, for all the efforts if the PL to make it seem so. It is the result of this government’s, and its immediate predecessors’ vision and direction. All the policies of the Nationalist Party in government, in retrospect, were clearly geared towards achieving that goal.

This morning on timesofmalta.com, I read a comment reminding people that Evarist Bartolo had removed student stipends. A
prompt reply below retorting to the tune of “Well, how do you know the PN won’t do the same if they win the next elections?”

I have no doubt that the PN will not remove student stipends because it would make absolutely no sense whatsoever given their past record and their stated goals.

I can’t say the same with certainty of Labour, because its track record in education and almost everything else has been abysmal and they still have, as far as I know, no stated goals, except to wrest power from GoNeZiPn.

I was young during the “golden years”, but I was old enough to remember the animosity towards education and especially towards those who wished to better themselves. I remember the teachers’ strike and the violence.

I remember that the highest to which one could aspire was a “skrivan mal-gvern” – a life of unceasing boring drudgery, producing nothing, expecting nothing. A virtual death of the soul.

On the contrary, I have a job now that I love and what’s more, I have opportunities.

I don’t have a lifelong guarantee of a boring, low-paying job – that, no. And I don’t want it either. It appears that some people still yearn for that brand of slavery, which they call security. Cages and prisons are secure, too.

They would willingly trade the opportunities they have, virtually for the taking, albeit with continuing effort – they would trade them for the relative ease of having everything decided for them by a higher power. For a safe life of numbing drudgery that leads nowhere – of finding a job created expressly for them as soon as they leave school. A meaningless job that produces nothing and leads nowhere.

These, then, are my reasons for voting PN in the next election. Compared to the overarching consistency of policies that I have witnessed during successive PN administrations, the relative storm in a teacup initiated by Pullicino Orlando, Debono or Mugliett is insignificant to me.

Who cares if Pullicino Orlando hates Richard Cachia Caruana or Franco Debono hates Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici? I care about my future and that of my children, and what future do we have with a confused mass of populists with huge chips on their shoulders ready to take the wheel?

I already have experience of that and I don’t want to repeat it.

Thank you for providing me with an opportunity to express my opinions and experiences in your blog, Daphne. By maintaining this blog you are doing everybody a real public service.