Finance Minister Clyde Caruana brushed off criticism of his Budget measures on Sunday in a scathing speech where he said that people’s masks had fallen when it comes to the population, and decried greedy businesses who were only interested in profit.

Speaking in a Labour Party activity on Sunday, Caruana blasted businesses who think only about profit and then leave the burdens that their profit creates onto the rest of the country to deal with.

Caruana said that he does not remember a Budget which people have interacted with in such a manner as they have this week. “The Budget touched a nerve,” he said.

He said that the people have been sending clear messages that they want to see some things done differently for a while, and the reaction came because people are seeing that their priorities are starting to be given attention.

“This Budget gave a clear sign: we have listened, and we will act,” he said.

Caruana said that the Budget did not favour one class or another: on the one hand, he said, workers got less taxes and the Super Bonus, and on the other hand employers have €400 million in energy subsidies offering stability and small enterprises will see a reduction in corporate taxation.

“Support to businesses must go hand in hand with the responsibility to ensure that the wealth generated is spread to everyone,” he however said.

“Everyone must enjoy the profits, but businesses must shoulder some part of the burden of the wealth that is being created.  The salaries we offer, how we attract workers, how we treat them, and our economic model all work hand-in-hand,” he said.

Caruana said that many people had asked the government to do something about over-population, but said that “now a lot of masks have dropped.”

“Now that the government has done something, suddenly population isn’t a problem anymore.  It’s like the world is going to end because we took action. The message I take from this is ‘don’t touch our pockets, and let workers and families shoulder the burden’,” he said on the government’s critics.

He also criticised the Nationalist Party for being indecisive in its beliefs, saying that the country needs politics of substance, not just words up in the air.

“This isn’t a conflict between races or colours, or between employees and employers – and we should never devolve into hate or into belittling the worker.  The problem isn’t people: it’s when certain businesses build their economy on low wages and do not care about the effect it may have on the community around them,” Caruana said.

His scathing remarks continued: “They take the profit and expect the country to shoulder the rest,” he said, before adding that this government is the most which has helped businesses grow, but also expects that businesses shoulder some of the expenses.

“This is part of our social justice. This has started to address the imbalance created by the greed of a few who have placed the burden on the rest,” he said.

“We aren’t against profit – we are against profit which is to the detriment of workers and the environment,” he added.

Caruana said that it will be the Labour Party which again writes a new chapter for Malta with social justice as a foundation part of its work, and that the path to the party’s fifth electoral victory starts now.