The Opposition, and particularly its leader, has not yet learned that to be very competitive in the global economy, one has to offer something that your competitors might not as yet have.

During the parliamentary debate on the Individual Investor Programme, various Opposition speakers kept referring to other countries where they have such programmes to try and attract very rich investors, but these countries have tied the granting of citizenship to investment that would create jobs. And the investor must invest millions in the country.

In our case, the government does not want to impose very strict conditions on the amount and conditions of investment as this would rule out the vast majority of possible applicants who may not wish to get involved in the hassle and problems created by this type of investment. Of course, those who may wish to also go in for investment of this type, once their application is approved, would be very welcome indeed!

This is why the programmes planned by this government has all the conditions needed to be a success, because Malta is offering something more attractive, and hence more competitive, than other programmes found elsewhere! With Malta being such a tiny island, we have the advantage that while €650,000 invested in much bigger countries may be regarded as insignificant, for us that amount means something. And if a considerable number of investors see acquiring Maltese citizenship as a very attractive proposition, the total amount of money coming to our island could be very substantial!

This is why I am convinced that the real reason behind the Opposition’s desperate efforts to try and scare potential investors in this programme is due to their fear that if it is a success, its electoral hopes may be over for a very long time!

Eddy Privitera