The government is in denial about the increased cost of living the Maltese people have to contend with, the Nationalist Party said on Thursday.

The government must immediately address the reality on the ground that people are struggling to make ends meet, PN deputy leader David Agius said when addressing the media.

Instead, the government is boasting of a 13% growth in the Maltese economy in the second quarter of this year – an increase which is a result of a comparison to the country’s economic situation in 2020, the year of a pandemic when everything was closed down.

The government must first admit that Malta’s economic situation is facing this serious problem and then start tackling it in a serious way, Agius said.

Quoting a survey by Newsbook and MISCO, Agius stated that the party is empathetic to the fact that the quality of life for many is decreasing due to their struggle to buy basic necessities, let alone pay their loans.

As the survey shows, 86% of participants said that the cost of living had increased in the past three years, 56% were not managing to live a comfortable life with their wages and 26% of participant residents having said that their biggest concern is the cost of living in Malta.

The PN emphasised how the strategy for the vouchers to be part of the financial recovery plan for Malta was its idea and that the PL first made fun of them and then later adopted the strategy.

Thus, the PN said they are appealing the government for a continual dialogue with regards to Malta’s current economic crises so that the European funds given for financial recovery will not in turn negatively impacting the cost of living.

Furthermore, the PN appeal to the general public to send in their suggestions via the new PN portal: Kunilbidla.com