Watch: Robert Abela Boasts About How Economy Has Improved Since COVID-19 Lockdowns
Prime Minister Robert Abela played down concerns of an economic downturn by comparing economic indicators with their performance when the country was subjected to major COVID-19 restrictions.
“Statistics and facts fill you with courage,” Abela said on ONE Radio this morning.
“In the second quarter of this year, sales in the services sector increased by a third when compared to the equivalent period in 2021. Sales in industry in the second quarter of this year increased by 14%.”
“These are very strong statistics and naturally fill you with courage and in the coming days, we are going to intensify discussions and preparations ahead of the next Budget. We will keep on moving forward, sustain this rhythm and balance it with sensibility, but my message is definitely one of positivity and that Malta will see good times.”
However, Abela didn’t mention what the state of the economy was like in the second quarter of 2021, ie. 1st April 2021 – 30th June 2021.
On 10th March 2021, the Prime Minister reacted to a rise in COVID-19 cases by imposing a quasi-lockdown, shutting down several sectors of the economy, including most shops and services, as well as gyms, cinemas, restaurants, hotels and theatres.
Shops and services were only reopened on 26th April, when the second quarter of 2021 was already in full swing, while restaurants were reopened on 10th May and were initially subjected to severe restrictions, including a closing time of 5pm for diners.
Gyms and pools were allowed to reopen on 24th May, the same day that restaurants’ opening hours were extended to midnight.
Events were banned for the entire second quarter of 2021, while tourism was severely limited due to COVID-19 travel restrictions from Malta and other countries.
Lies, damned lies and statistics – brief analysis of Abela’s comments
In times of economic uncertainty, it certainly helps the nation to see their leader upbeat and positive for the days ahead.
No one wants to see a Prime Minister telling people to tighten their belts and basically accept the fact that they have become poorer for reasons that they have no control over… that approach would only scare people and businesses and likely render an economic downturn a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Still, there is a limit to how much you can convince people into believing that everything is fine, even as the government embarks on a cost-cutting exercise that has seen the University of Malta’s budget slashed.
Boasting that service sales have improved since the days when these sectors weren’t even allowed to operate at all, a period that is still fresh in people’s minds, smacks of delusion.
If Abela wants people to have their minds at rest that everything is fine, he should search for other, more convincing, economic indicators.
Do you trust Robert Abela to oversee this period of economic turbulence?
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