Election 2022: Here’s What Malta’s Labour Party Got Up To This Week
It’s almost been one week since Prime Minister Robert Abela announced the General Election date – and it’s certainly been an eventful one at that.
In case you’re wondering what went down, or perhaps you’re looking for all of the details about the new proposals, here’s this week’s roundup for the Labour Party amidst the 2022 electoral campaign.
Prime Minister Robert Abela started last Sunday with a bang, with the General Election finally being called with a set date, after months of endless rumours. And the date is 26th March, just a bit under five weeks since the day that it was announced.
And as it goes in Malta, the first Labour Party rally was called for the day after, which took place in Qormi, and saw quite the amount of people show up – even though COVID-19 measures technically prohibit it.
Soon after, the PL unveiled its long-awaited slogan for this electoral campaign, ‘Malta Flimkien’, with banners and billboards related to the election taking over most of the spots in Malta.
What has been proposed so far?
Abela has pledged that the government will invest €700 million in green areas over a seven-year period if the Labour Party wins the upcoming election.
He also pledged that the government will give every first-time buyer €1,000 a year over a ten-year period to help them pay their home loans, equivalent to a total of €10,000. Abela also pledged to reduce the corporate tax rate for the first €52,000 from 35% to 25%.
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli pledged to convert the Ħamrun milk factory into a large garden, complete with underground parking, with the factory set to be moved to an industrial site.
Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia announced that Floriana’s traffic-heavy main road Triq Sant’Anna will become a pedestrianised green area if the PL wins the upcoming election, plans which were originally proposed by the architectural firm DHI Periti in 2014.
Abela pledged to reduce income tax in the next legislature by significantly widening the brackets which dictate how much tax people must pay. Abela also said this measure will leave a total of €66 million extra in people’s pockets, with low and medium-income earners feeling most of the impact.
He also confirmed that the government plans to give all workers and students a €100 cheque and pensioners and people on social benefits a €200 cheque will be put into motion during the election campaign.
What else?
Asked whether Rosianne Cutajar deserves to be in Parliament, Abela told Lovin Malta that “Cutajar shouldered the political consequences, now she has put her name forward and now it is up to the public to decide”, leaving it all in the hands of the people.
Apart from that, Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat began lending his support to Labour Party candidates, endorsing them publicly at smaller political events on the campaign trail, with images on social media showing Muscat attending an event in Marsaxlokk alongside Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista.
On to withdrawals of contestations, one of the Labour Party’s new election candidates, urban anthropologist and university lecturer Rachael Scicluna decided not to contest the upcoming election.
And finally, Abela has agreed to a University of Malta debate together with Opposition Leader Bernard Grech. Abela still has not agreed to Lovin Malta’s debate, while Grech has.
And that’s all for election week one!
What did you make of the Labour Party’s proposals?
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