Prime Minister Joseph Muscat suspects that instead of an economy for the people, the Opposition Leader wants higher taxes.
The Prime Minister gave a very short comment outside Parliament following Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil's speech regarding the budget.
He referred to Dr Busuttil's speech as having a rhetoric of austerity.
The Prime Minister said Simon Busuttil is a broken record, repeating the same negativity that he has been saying for quite a while.
Dr Muscat expressed his discontent, saying that Dr Busuttil "used pensioners, persons with disability, those on disability as an excuse for his criticism, when in fact this was a social budget that increased benefits, removing taxes etc. for these persons".
He said that the Opposition Leader wants to turn back the clock. "I believe the people know better and that government will move forward".
"Tomorrow I will respond to all of this".
Dr Muscat then left and did not allow time for questions.
PL Reaction
The Labour Party published a statement following the speech, criticising Dr Busuttil, calling his speech "negative and destructive"
"You need to be insensitive to call this budget 'cosmetic' when the benefits are shared with everyone, especially those most vulnerable".
The PL said that for Dr Busuttil, "it is cosmetic to give €500 a year to every family with two children, where the father works on a minimum wage".
"For Dr Busuttil, it is cosmetic to remove the weight of taxes on the first €13,000 on pensions".
The PL said Dr Busuttil lacks credibility. "When he was PN Deputy Leader, two persons registered as unemployed each day, and those with severe material deprivation rose by 10,000.
"Instead of continuing to defend PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami, Dr Busuttil would do well to understand the projects making Malta a success."
"Thanks to the thousands who did not listen to Dr Busuttil in 2013, and voted for a change in direction, today we can implement a social packet worth millions to help those most in need".
Video by Jonathan Borg
Photo by James Bianchi