It takes a great deal for the President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry to sit across the table from the Prime Minister and tell him, courteously but unmistakably, that his government needs to come clean with the Maltese people. Yet that is precisely what happened during the Malta Chamber's pre-budget meeting with Robert Abela, and quite frankly, I cannot remember the last time I heard such a clear and unveiled, pointed remark.

At the government's event celebrating its first 100 days, the proceedings took the shape of the usual triumphant soiree of hyped-up rhetoric and spin. Things are going swimmingly, we were told, and the country could carry on with business as usual.

It didn't take very long, however, merely two days later in fact, for the Finance Minister Clyde Caruana to rain on the Prime Minister's parade, and state in no uncertain terms that pressure from energy prices and the deficit, left very limited room for further capital and current spending. This time, the speech was taking place behind closed doors, during a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, the MCESD, and the air was different.

So why did it take the President of the Malta Chamber to call the government out? Is it the case of the business community being given the real picture, while the public is fed the glossy TikTok?

The numbers suggest that the Finance Minister's version is the one we should be listening to. We have already spoken about how the Malta Fiscal Advisory Council has warned that expenditure pressures are putting the government's finances at risk. In fact, the independent body, which is tasked to advise government about its economic policy, has sounded alarm bells on several occasions, claiming that Malta's economy continues to expand on the back of population growth, imported labour and public spending rather than on genuine growth in productivity. Is there an echo in this room?

Now the bill is arriving. Reportedly, the Finance Ministry has ordered government agencies to freeze spending until at least the end of the year, return uncommitted funds and halt recruitment except in emergencies. Ministers have also been warned not to expect larger allocations next year. The Minister has not answered questions on these reports, but perhaps he should, because this doesn't sound like the propaganda doing the rounds on the billboards at all!

The Chamber's wider message deserves a serious hearing too. Its "Reset and Lead" pre-Budget document, rightly calls for a major rethink of Malta's economic model and warns that low productivity, labour market pressures and governance challenges must be tackled if the country is to remain competitive.

The budget is just a few weeks away, and we hope that the real picture will be provided. Government will have to decide whether it keeps spinning the story of the 100 days or finally levels with the public in the way its own Finance Minister has already levelled with the social partners.