Opposition Leader Bernard Grech criticised the government on Sunday, saying that the Nationalist Party will not allow Castille to manipulate people and present the government’s lies as the truth, nor will it allow the Labour government to feel superior over anyone else. 

“The Nationalist Party no longer wants corrupt politicians or a government without a plan. Nor does it want a Broadcasting Authority which does as it pleases,” Grech said. 

During a political event in Pjazza Bertu Fenech, Ħal Balzan, PN Leader Grech criticised the measures presented in the Budget for 2022, highlighting that once again, the Labour government presented a budget that excludes the future of this country and its people completely. 

Speaking about the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia which was commemorated on Saturday, Grech said that this government is far from courageous as it did not even find the courage to make a gesture and try to appease the people on this very sensitive matter. 

Last year, the Nationalist Party had said that the 2021 Budget was ‘a short-sighted budget which forgets the future.’ “It seems that this statement prevails as the Labour government has not learnt its lesson,” Grech said. 

This was the first political Sunday event of the Nationalist Party following the publication of the 2022 Budget on Monday. 

He noted that despite a two-hour speech given by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, the budget is a clear representation of how the government focused on publishing measures which seek to aid today’s needs only, thus forgetting about the future. 

“It is our obligation as politicians to look to the future and see how and which direction will be taken, to move the country and its people forward, without the expectation that that politician will be shown any sort of gratitude for what was promised and implemented,” Grech said. 

He also highlighted that this government is one which creates problems for this country, but then boasts for solving the problems that it created itself. 

Grech acknowledged that in this year’s budget, the government published a number of measures which are deemed positive and beneficial by the Nationalist Party, measures which the party has been continuously pushing for. However, he also noted that this budget excludes many sectors in this country. 

“We have not seen any measures related to the conditions for workers, educators and self-employed, nor have we seen any sort of strategy aimed at removing Malta from the FATF grey listing in this budget. Also, we have not seen anything related to what will be done after money was stolen from electricity and water bills.  

This is a budget which has also forgotten frontliners, nurses, soldiers, educators as well as the Malta Police. However, the Labour government is the first to use these workers to score political points,” Grech said. 

Grech also criticised that the measure related to the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) which is set to rise by €1.75 per week. 

“This government prioritises its funds for Vitals and Electrogas deals and chooses to forget its people and the challenging realities many families are facing,” Grech said. 

He spoke about the desperate and hard realities that families are facing to make ends meet, especially due to challenges that were brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“We need to learn to address these problems by having real and concrete solutions for these people. This is the same reality the Labour government is ignoring. This is clearly seen in the 2022 Budget as the government completely excluded Malta's front-liners who have sacrificed so much during the past year. 

The Labour government is presenting a future to its people in which it is saying: ‘You need to work harder or find another job if you want to cope with the basic daily expenses,’” Grech said. 

He reiterated his point about a ‘budget with no strategy, no clear direction and no vision’, saying that out of the entire budget document, the government only dedicated three pages to ‘Malta of Tomorrow.’ 

“This government is clearly showing its people that it will throw this country in a significant amount of debt,” Grech said. 

“How can one trust Prime Minister Robert Abela when the government did not carry out a third of the measures proposed last year?”, Grech asked. 

Meanwhile, Grech emphasised that the Nationalist Party is one that speaks the language of truth and he insisted that people should not be conditioned to believe otherwise. He encouraged those people who are suffering in this country to voice their concerns and show the difficult realities they are facing in their daily lives. 

“The Nationalist Party is determined to be the change for this country and move it forward for its people and our children,” Grech said. 

On Monday, PN Leader Grech said that he will be presenting a clear plan highlighting the Nationalist Party’s vision for a better Malta. 

PN Candidate Rebekah Cilia and PN MP Ivan Bartolo also spoke during the PN's political event, focusing mainly on the 2022 Budget.