Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech stated on Monday evening, after the official Budget 2025 announcement, that this year’s Budget “does not address the problems that people are experiencing in everyday life.”
Following Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s discourse in Parliament, where he revealed the government’s fiscal plans for the upcoming year, PN leader Bernard Grech told journalists that the government revealed this evening that it has no direction to truly promote quality of life for Malta and Gozo.
“This is a government that will leave you in traffic, seek healthcare services and not be treated in a timely or dignified manner,” Grech said.
Grech affirmed that despite the word “quality” being mentioned 27 total times during the two-and-a-half hour discourse just prior, the government, in his view, failed to describe how it intends to improve the quality of life of persons living in the Maltese islands via action or investment. He also remarked that “this Budget was filled with positive words that meant that your quality of life will not improve.”
“This government does not want to address your everyday issues,” he said, “this government knows that it has destroyed people’s quality of life and doesn’t want to address it.”
Grech said that following the publication of Budget 2025, the Nationalist Party shall continue to consult with social partners and citizens. He described that PN’s wishes to be a government that can give this country the direction it is currently lacking, for Maltese and Gozitans to truly have improved quality of life.
As one example of this, Grech referenced social partners’ suggestion for the government to decrease the percentage of value-added tax (VAT) – a suggestion that was not taken up.
The PN leader did not speak negatively about all aspects of this Budget however – when asked about the government’s income tax reform, Grech spoke positively, though stated that “it wasn’t as adventurous as we would have liked.”
According to him, the Nationalist Party believes that people can have a better quality of life through “truly needed tax reductions.” He indicated PN would decrease tax for everyone – persons and businesses.
Grech stated that over the coming days, weeks, and months, his party shall be publicizing what it would have done differently over this Budget as preparatory efforts marked towards the next general election. He said that the PN plans on being “an honest government that will be transparent with people on what issues we will invest in.”
Grech spoke critically against the government over the cost of living adjustments (COLA) continuing to be taxed.
“This government wants to keep pigging out from people’s cost of living adjustments,” he said.
Grech labelled the government’s implemented COLA a misnomer, stating that with the amount allocated, it is clearly backdated by 10 months. He reiterated the PN’s proposal for COLA to be an untaxed financial bonus before describing how the incumbent administration wishes to keep “stealing” from taxes on COLA after being the cause for the level of local inflation.
Speaking about the present Villa Rosa controversy, Grech stated that the Nationalist Party has taken a “very strong stance” on the subject and has spoken clearly.
He did not answer whether he or the Nationalist Party has received direct donation/s from Villa Rosa developer Anton Camilleri, commonly known as, or from any of his affiliated companies.
Grech stated that PN shall remain “vigilant and clear” and that it is not a question of donations, but “it is important for us to be vocal, even possibly against person who donates [to us].”
He also commented that the media should continue this discussion and continue to unveil this controversy, with the future aim of a “proper” party financing law to enter the policymaking agenda.
Concluding his comments, the Nationalist Party leader said that “quality of life is not granted through clichés, but through direction, decisions, and through the free political will of a Nationalist Government that is not tied down like Robert Abela’s government is.”