The Nationalist Party and the Labour Party traded accusations on Thursday over Malta's population policy, with the PN claiming the Labour administration has no clear population plan to underpin its long-term Vision 2050 strategy, while the PL countered that the PN's own proposals would result in a larger population through increased foreign worker recruitment.
In a statement, the Nationalist Party said Labour had no population plan before the last general election and "still has no plan today".
The PN referred to recent comments by Prime Minister Robert Abela, saying he had contradicted Finance Minister Clyde Caruana's projection made three years ago that Malta's population could reach 800,000 by 2040.
The Opposition noted that Caruana had since reaffirmed that projection when asked whether he still believed it remained valid.
The PN also cited a parliamentary reply to Question 1159, tabled by PN MP Michael Piccinino, in which the government said it did not have estimates of how much Malta's population would increase in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.
The PN argued that if the government did not know what the country's population would be in the coming years, it could not effectively plan for long-term initiatives such as Vision 2050 or major infrastructure projects, including a future mass transport system.
According to the PN, this demonstrated that the government lacked a coherent long-term strategy and that Vision 2050 was little more than "another public relations exercise".
Responding, the Labour Party accused the PN of failing to present its own population strategy while criticising Labour's approach.
It argued that proposals contained in the PN's electoral manifesto would, in practice, lead to a larger population by facilitating the recruitment of more foreign workers, reducing bureaucracy for employers and introducing schemes to attract additional workers to Malta.
The PL also referred to remarks previously made by Opposition Leader Alex Borg, saying he had stated that, if elected Prime Minister, he would regularise foreign workers currently in Malta without a work permit. It said Borg had neither clarified nor withdrawn that position.
The PL said its own Labour Migration Policy was based on allowing third-country nationals to work in Malta only where there was a genuine need, including in sectors such as healthcare and elderly care.
It added that since the policy was introduced, Malta had recorded its second-lowest net balance of foreign workers since 2017.
The PL said the PN should explain how its own proposals would avoid increasing Malta's population before criticising Labour's policies.
It argued that while the Opposition's rhetoric focused on limiting population growth, its policy proposals would produce the opposite effect.