WATCH: Robert Abela Is The Antithesis Of Joseph Muscat’s Pro-Business Mindset, PN Leader Warns
Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has warned businesspeople that Prime Minister Robert Abela has well and truly departed from the pro-business mentality that his predecessor Joseph Muscat had advocated.
“The government is targeting businesspeople because it envies them,” Grech said during an interview on NET TV this morning.
“If there was one good thing about Joseph Muscat it’s that his government was pro-business and opened the doors wider to businesses so they could work with their mind at ease.”
“This government has become the antithesis of Joseph Muscat. They are attacking businesspeople because they have no idea how to make money, how to attract new industries and how to create new economic pillars. So instead they’re turning their eyes on you so you can make good for all the waste, the theft and the money they’re giving each other and their friends.”
Grech’s remark came after Finance Minister Clyde Caruana delivered a blistering speech in Parliament in which he warned businesses that the government can no longer tolerate a state of play whereby some of them don’t pay their due taxes and pledged to do his utmost to deliver a “culture change” on tax collection.
“When the moment of truth and the hour of need arrived, everyone who was on their knees asked for help,” Caruana said, referring to businesses’ pleas for aid in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It cannot be that everyone is a communist in the hour of need and a capitalist when the going is smooth.”
Following this speech, former PN candidate Franco Debono said that Caruana is “breaking ministerial records for arrogance”.
Prime Minister Robert Abela then sought to calm the waters during a meeting with the Chamber of SMEs.
“We will chase after you, but only to give you all the necessary tools to keep on growing and getting stronger… that’s the only reason we’ll chase after you.”
Do you agree with Bernard Grech’s assessment?
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