The debate regarding the Budget Measures Imple-

mentation Bill continued last night, starting off with Opposition Leader Alfred Sant who last Wednesday remained in possession of the floor.

Dr Sant gave a summary of what he said last week regarding the “shameful” economic management of the standard of living. He said that all prices in Malta have risen at least twice as much as in other European countries. He said that mechanisms that keep inflation stable are not being given any regard, even though euro adoption is on the doorstep.

Dr Sant also explained why it is a “too little too late” budget – certain expenditure voted for is not wholly spent, and projects do not meet deadlines and have budget overruns. “Who does not fight against corruption is stealing from you and your country!” he added, quoting the previous leader of the Nationalist Party, adding that “this all smells of corruption!” He then gave a rendition of the Manwel Dimech Bridge saga to exemplify this.

MLP’s main spokesperson for the army and the airport Joe Debono Grech spoke against the promotions and salaries for the ranks of colonel and lieutenant colonel in the armed forces - “appointments that were clearly handed out irregularly. You are ridiculing the army,” he said. He voiced his disdain towards politics being a force that ensures that the army is run by core PN personnel.

In his intervention, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea praised the initiative undertaken by the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity and affiliated bodies, to raise awareness of domestic violence.

Dr Galea appealed to judges and magistrates to use discretion when dealing with such cases.

He denied Labour MP Debono Grech’s allegations, saying that when Labour was in government, it held the record for having the highest inflation ever – “a double digit inflation rate”, he said. Dr Galea also rebutted Dr Sant’s allegations of corruption.

“Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has managed to reduce the deficit and improve the economy while the number of people registering for work has decreased. We have invested in the health and education sectors to make them the best in this region. This is the ambition that the PM has for us, Dr Galea ended.

Labour’s main spokesman for the interior Gavin Gulia said the PN has “ridden on the budget’s wave” to propagate its slogan Familji fis-Sod. The Nationalist Party, he said, likes to project that all is well, although the party was aware that we were living beyond our means in 2003. He said that former Minister John Dalli himself had claimed “we have failed in our aims”. Dr Gulia said the PN had failed in its economic policy.

Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina spoke about the Euro-Child conference, expressing her surprise at the statement issued by the Labour Party on the occasion of the International Day of the Child. “You are proposing that the Commissioner for Children will be an Ombudsman. Having said we should be careful when electing an ombudsman because he or she would focus only on specific cases, you are now proposing that the Commissioner for Children should be an Ombudsman. This is a contradiction in terms”, she said.

Regarding the Children’s Allowance, Minister Cristina criticised the MLP’s reaction, saying it was dishonest. “You focused on the fact that we took from those that did not benefit in the 1990s reform, but you did not say that they benefited from the tax exemptions at the time.’ She ended her intervention by saying there was evidence pointing to the need for human resources in social services.

The debate continues tomorrow.