Bernard Grech Accuses PM Of Presenting ‘Fake Budget’ Despite Knowing Early Election Will Be Called
Opposition leader Bernard Grech has accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of irresponsibility and of acting in the Labour Party’s interests rather than the national interest in deciding when to hold the next general election.
Grech was speaking during a press conference after Abela’s budget speech in Parliament, where he said that the Prime Minister had failed to address the most serious issues facing the country, including its competitiveness and reputation.
“An irresponsible Prime Minister who has left the country in a state of uncertainty about the election because he only has the interests of the Labour Party at heart,” Grech said.
Abela, he said, did not care about business owners trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He carried out a pretend consultation for an imaginary fake budget for which he has filled the country with billboards when he knew full well that he was going to go for an early election,” Grech continued.
Turning to the results of EY’s latest Attractiveness Survey, which Malta’s reputation to have taken a significant hit following its greylisting by the FATF, Grech said it was clear from the Prime Minister’s words that he did not care about the implications of greylisting.
“You speak about the future you want to leave for our children when in actual fact you’re also endearing the present for them,” he said, adding that it was clear for all to see that Abela and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s reassurances that Malta’s greylisting would not affect it had been shown to be misplaced.
Grech also accused the Prime Minister of personal attacks during his speech and of failing to address the fact that many citizens were being overcharged for their water and electricity consumption.
The country, he said, needed a renewed vision that could allow it to make the next great step forward. Only the PN could provide this vision, he concluded.
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