We had two statements earlier this week on the so-called Stabbilta' scheme, which was introduced earlier this year in an attempt to control inflation by keeping the prices of a few, selected products constant for a period of time, which ends in October. The scheme will not be renewed as, we are told, inflation has dropped to an acceptable level.

The Nationalist Party was the first to speak up, saying that the scheme did little, if anything, to keep inflation down. It was external factors such as European market conditions and competition that contributed to the drop in inflation, not Stabbilita', the PN said.

It quoted the Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Malta Chamber of SMEs who expressed concern over the government's approach. The Chamber of Commerce criticised the scheme as an overly simplistic response to inflation, while the Chamber of SMEs questioned the sustainability of such interventions, saying they offered no long-term solutions to challenges faced by businesses and households. The PN opined that the scheme was a last-ditch, desperate effort which did not work out as it was intended to.

In reply, the Labour Party said it will not take any lessons from the PN, saying that the rate of inflation under a PL government remained lower than the eurozone average, in contrast to what used to happen under a Nationalist administration, when the PL said it was higher.

Political bickering, the type we are used to. But it also brings up the discussion on an important subject because, after all, the cost of items which are considered to be necessary for a decent standard of living affects everyone.

And, perhaps, given that the political parties have their own agenda, it is better to heed what the two constituted bodies mentioned by the PN have said on the subject which, it must be noted, were not tackled in the Labour Party statement.

Both the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of SMEs represent a wide spectrum of members of different political beliefs, and therefore their comments are less biased and carry more weight. Both chambers have to be careful in their comments so as not to appear to be taking political sides. The fact that both of them have expressed doubts on the functioning of the Stabbilta' scheme goes a long way to describe the situation - if the system had worked, both chambers would have said that it worked; if they said they were preoccupied, it's only because the feedback they were given by their members indicated that the system was not as perfect as the Labour Party says it was.

Yet, on the other hand, neither was it as disastrous as the PN portrays it to be. That the Cost of Living Adjustment for 2025 will be around €5 or €6 - a far cry from €12.81 that was given for 2024 - is an indication that something did change over the course of the year.

The Labour Party likes to think that it all happened because of Stabbilta'; the PN says it was a result of factors that cannot be attributed to the government measures.

As usual, the real world is somewhere in between.