Prime Minster Robert Abela has appealed for the newly elected PN leader, and eventually new Opposition leader, Bernard Grech to come together with the government in parliament to discuss and agree on a holistic vision for Malta’s future.
He was speaking during an interview on PL party media where current affairs relating international discussions, the upcoming budget as well as yesterday’s PN leadership election were discussed.
Abela was asked for his opinion on Grech’s comment during a debate on party media where he said that he is ashamed to say he is Maltese because of the corruption that permeates the country.
“I would never say something like that when we have so many things across the board to be proud of. My main philosophy is being proud of being Maltese which is how I approach each discussion I have internationally,” Abela said.
He appealed for the upcoming Opposition leader to work with the government and find those themes which the opposition and the government can agree on and pave a way forward.
One theme is that of migration which was a main topic of discussion during last Friday’s European Council Summit.
“My central philosophy for this summit was my pride towards being Maltese. We took some contrasting positions with the Greek and Cyprus leaders who were in heated discussion with Turkey. These are issues in which one has to take a strong position and ensure the best for one’s country.”
He said that he is proud of the fact that there were no irregular migrants reported during the month of September while stressing that the 38 migrants reported yesterday coming from Morocco need to be repatriated.
“The main point has to be that Malta is full up if we keep saying we can take more we will have failed and I appeal for the Opposition, and civil society alike, to look towards a centralised political vision.”
He also called for Grech to not let anyone in the party hinder the government’s effort to stop the arrivals of more migrants, making referring to the inquiry that was opened against the government when it refused to accept more migrants into the country. “We cannot have the Opposition and civil society instigating anything about the difficult stands we are having to take. One has to understand that this is the only way we started being heard.”
Abela added that during the summit they discovered the similarities that every Mediterranean country has in the problems it faces in the situation, including Libya. “We cannot keep looking at Libya as a problem, but we need to build bridges and relationships in the same way we have done. We can look this as an investment in our country and create a stronger collaborative foreign relationship.”
During the interview, Abela was also asked for his comments on Malta having the lowest rate on unemployment in the EU for the third consecutive month.
“While the PN was worrying about their new leader, we were discussing a way forward for Malta’s economy. Our unemployment rate has been reduced by 0.4% in Malta while in EU it increased by 0.8%. This result did not fall from the sky, it comes from our dedicated vision,” he stated.
He said that the government’s politics is based on safeguarding employment, which is why it introduced the wage supplement – “it is an investment not a cost because we are investing in people’s employments which makes the economic recovery easier to achieve.”
He attributed this to the international relations and the taxes that businesses were paying and could pay because of these international investments.
“Finally, we gave people the confidence to spend because they have guaranteed income with the supplement. Our message has been for the people to keep enjoying their life while leaving their problems for us to tackle. This is reflective of the philosophy that the government has for the future of our country not just in the current crisis.”
He was also asked if the budget will be a positive one this year despite the crisis, to which he replied; “if it was not, we would be going against our philosophy.”
Abela explained that the budget is focused on economic growth and bettering people’s quality of life by targeting the sectors that need the most help, like pensionaries who the government is taking a socialist approach towards.
He also touched on the tourism sector which is already seeing a change for the better in Malta. The budget will promote national projects and strategically implement them so as to better the quality of Maltese products for tourism.