After GBC's Viewpoint, What?

Well we move on.  The day after the day before when, hopefully, following Viewpoint last night, the comfort felt by some will have been shaken at least a little bit.  What to write about?  Well I will develop a subject that I touched on last night.

Democratic politics is about real live issues.  It is about finite resources being applied evenly and for the benefit of our society as a whole.  It is about minorities having their rights protected.  It is about the more needy in every field being looked after, without the creation of a nanny state that looks after those who should look after themselves.  It is about a lot more than that but one thing that it is certainly about is the delivery of manifesto promises.  It is also about the future.  Let politicians stop dwelling on the past and fighting elections on what happened 16 years ago.  We all know it was bad, no, appalling.  The perpetrators have been punished, let us look forward now.

The past has a bearing but not to the exclusion of progress.  Those involved in politics cannot continuously dwell on the past; especially if the primary reason for doing so is to perpetuate their own selfish sojourn in politics and their own well paid positions.  I would be ashamed if I was being paid what our elected politicans are being paid doing what many do.  The majority do very little to earn it.   Their primary task seems to be not to get on the wrong side of their party leader  so as  not to be out of favour, which may result in them being excluded at the next election.  If she/he can stay on the slate by hanging onto the coat tails of his leader the "party" will continue. 

I sit and write pieces for free, about which I do not complain (in fact it keeps me happy!), and  achieve much much more than some of our politicians, shame on you.  You should be embarrassed.  You know who you are, give up, show some respect for yourselves and for those who elect you.  Alternatively wake up and do what you were elected to do: make a diffrerence provide people with the change that they yearn for:  make Gibraltar more democratic. 

The GSD Government promised this.  It has not delivered on this promise.  All GSD Ministers and MPs should be screaming to achieve this before the next election.  It is not a cross-party issue, as suggested by Louis Montegriffo, representing the GSD last night on Viewpoint.  It is a GSD manifesto promise that so far is broken.    Each MP owes it to the electorate to use their ability to achieve for the electorate what they promised.  What is it that always happens that, in the end, promised reforms to improve democracy is not what the electorate gets?  It cannot be the fault of anyone other than the elected members on the government benches.

I am not impressed by boastings of economic success by any government.  Gibraltar is successful because it is entrepreneurial by nature.  A government provides the stability and basis for the success of the private sector but, as I have argued in earler pieces, there is little else it can do on this side of the equation.  I have acknowledged, in the past and do so again, this has been well done by the GSD.  Gibraltar's economy is not rocket science, we have legislative leverage, fiscal leverage and regulatory leverage.  The money then comes in or does not.  Fortunately it has been coming in, people and businesses earn and taxes are paid.  The government then has its revenues. 

The next but prime responsibility of any government is to spend it well.  It is in this area that there is room for politics.  It is in this field that political parties can and will be judged.  Those who have been in government, by having what priorities they have had and how well they have met these and how much and well the money has been spent questioned.  Those who seek government, by how they promise in their manifesto to spend and use this money in the future.  Always remembering that it is not their money.  This money belongs to the peiople whom they represent.  It is received from payment of direct and indirect taxes.  Any government at any time is merely the custodian of that money.  They have to account for it to the electorate at all times, especially at elections.  Let us judge this isue at the next election as well.