The government on Wednesday shot down the Nationalist Party’s motion to prioritise the cost-of-living issue, with 40 of its votes going against the PN’s 31 votes which went in favour.

Proposed by PN leader Bernard Grech, the motion called for the Government to take blame for “contributing to the increasing cost of living and price increases” and for certain measures to be introduced to better tackle the issue overall.

Amongst these proposals, the Nationalist Party wished to eliminate income tax off COLA payments, provide tax credits to companies and SMEs, establish a national fund dedicated to providing financial support to Maltese importers and exports, and call for the country’s economic model to be reformed outright.

PN’s proposal to reform the country’s economic model calls for a model that “is not based rampant increases and without population planning,” but rather, an economic model that develops “new and innovative” economic sectors across the Maltese islands that offer better-paying wages for Maltese and Gozitan workers.

With 71 out of the Chamber’s 79 MPs present for the vote, there were no abstentions recorded.