Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last Sunday said that the PN has no credibility when it comes to economic leadership, a statement many would agree with. However a good section of the Maltese public are now beginning to question the government’s economic leadership as well.

If one were to take the surplus as the main thrust of economic success, then the Labour government has undoubtedly reached that goal. But if one were to see the realities of the day-to-day situation, are the Maltese really doing well?

Just how expensive has weekly grocery shopping become, and have the recent price increases been reflected in your pay increase? For some Maltese the answer is no, it hasn’t. Are Maltese able to rent or buy property based solely on their income? Some are, many others aren’t, and therein lies a problem. An economy based on ever increasing the workforce sends property prices upwards, but leaves Maltese who are not in these high paying jobs in the dust.

At the same time, Malta needs people to work those jobs that don’t pay over €2,000 a month, and thus a problematic situation has been created.

Even Malta’s tourism strategy is aimed towards quantity over quality, which has helped to create further issues in terms of increased overpopulation during the summer months. Quality tourists should be sought out, instead of quantity as the government persists on attracting.

Malta’s economy also has some high risk sectors, such as financial services and gaming. These sectors have boomed over the past years and had helped Malta remain above water, however they are also sectors which pose certain risks and could be volatile.

Indeed some gaming companies are now talking about slashing jobs, and this is worrying. Gaming provides some of Malta’s highest paying employment opportunities, and while gaming will continue to play an important role in Malta’s economy, one questions whether this is a sign of things to come in the future.

Malta’s move towards blockchain and AI is a good step, given that these would be safer sectors to invest in. But the government needs to be careful when it comes to crypto currencies as this sector carries with it its own risks and volatility.

At the same time, given that Malta’s economy is based on enlarging the workforce, the construction industry continues to boom, and increased construction continues to contribute to the uglification of the island. The Planning Authority has failed to keep Malta looking like a beautiful Mediterranean island, and instead is now a hotchpotch of mismatched buildings of contrasting colours and styles.

Indeed the government also needs to stop being hard-headed about its transport policy and seriously consider a tram-like system which could help alleviate traffic if it intends to remain on its current course to increase the islands’ population.  Road-widening won’t cut it.

The PN is meant to be the main alternative, but their finances are still not sufficient, and how could the people trust a party with struggling financials to handle a country’s economy. Yes the PN seems to provide certain criticism which makes sense, such as indicating the need to focus on quality jobs to expand the economy, rather than having an economy based on increasing the population, but at the same time it does not yet have a clear strategy as to how it will implement this.

Many question whether the PN in its current state would be able to solve the issues currently present in the country, and while it has come out with a few good ideas, a holistic strategy is still lacking, and their exact direction is still not yet known. Investors being unsure about the party ruling a country would surely have negative impacts on the economy as a whole.