For my English-speaking constituents, I provide the full English translation of my maiden speech in Parliament, originally delivered in Maltese. I present it in its entirety so that all who follow my work can read it exactly as it was expressed in the House.
Mr President, thank you. Since this is my first time addressing the House, I wish to join my colleagues in congratulating you on your appointment. Certainly, I extend my best wishes and take this opportunity to thank the electorate and personally thank the people of the second and ninth districts, where I contested and was also elected in a casual election.
Mr President, although I once viewed the highest institution of our country from the outside, today I have the privilege of serving the people from within. For this reason, I wish to speak briefly about some topics touched on last Saturday by H. E. the President of Malta, including the economy. When we speak about the economy, we must understand not only the mathematical principles behind it but also the philosophical foundations that shape it. The economy is complex, but we cannot ignore the basics. It is dynamic, not static. We cannot wake up, imagine something, and state it in a context that makes no sense. When I hear colleagues speak about a better quality of life, we must provide context. A better quality of life depends on generating wealth, and wealth comes from economic growth. It is an illusion to claim otherwise. This is simple to understand. If a family works harder year after year to increase its wealth, it does so to improve its economic situation and that of its children. Why? Because if their children ask for help, they can give it. The same applies to the economy. You cannot help your children if you do not generate wealth. The same applies when giving back to the people.
Mr President, let me give some context. When the Labour Party took the helm in 2013, the economic trajectory was very different. The economy stood at €7 billion; today, it is valued at more than €23 billion, having tripled. At that time, we discussed different priorities because the economic context was different. In 2013, we could not speak about the priorities we discuss today. Several families and businesses did not have enough liquidity to cover their electricity and water bills. That is in the past now, and the people want to look forward. Yet it is our duty to present the full picture, not half of it, if we truly want to improve on what has been done. Referring to what H. E. the President said, we all agree the environment must be given priority. The environment is an integral part of social justice. You cannot achieve social justice if you do not respect the environment around us. My work today as an economist is to integrate climate, environmental, social, and governance risks into the banking and financial industry. When I look at the Labour Party’s Int Malta manifesto, I see that the priorities we discuss – those that matter to the people – are written there in consolidated proposals.
In 2013, we needed to accelerate economic growth to exit the excessive deficit procedure and sustain our economic sovereignty. The European Commission could revoke all our economic and fiscal freedoms by rejecting our national budget if the fiscal situation were weak. The context was different then because the economic situation did not allow what we do today. It is good that today we speak about what we want, sometimes with a full list, even an à la carte menu. But back then, we discussed how people would cope with energy price instability being passed onto them. As politicians, we must be responsible. What we say must respect people and provide a proper context.
Let me speak briefly about the environment. The environment is borrowed from future generations. We cannot continue treating it in isolation. I accepted the invitation to contest the election with the Labour Party because the Int Malta manifesto addresses the environment, social policy, and governance in a holistic, integrated, and balanced way. The ambitious Well-Being Index will give a different dimension of measurement, not to diminish the importance of economic growth, but to complement it. This index, for the first time, binds a governing party to greater scrutiny. One of the ten dimensions – the second – is the quality of the local environment. We must protect what shapes our culture, natural capital, and identity. Moreover, as politicians, we must be empathetic to people’s needs and protect the sense of community that complements our well-being. The Labour Party in government has delivered much on the social front in recent years. Social policy is close to my heart, and we must treat it in an integrated way alongside the environment, not in isolation. We can do this because we have generated wealth over the years.
I welcome H. E. the President’s remarks on affordable housing. It is a theme I have campaigned on for the past four years. I am pleased this important theme now features prominently in the Int Malta manifesto as a support measure, complemented by the Well-Being Index under Dimension 5. We must never stop addressing this theme. We must also ensure any anomalies are corrected and push harder to balance housing market speculation by accelerating the supply of affordable accommodation. Mr President, I come from a generation that had to work hard to go farther in life. We lived without technology and went through a full transition. That transition brought improvements in how we live and greater efficiency. But every efficiency we try to maximise works against us in the sense that the more we want, the more we lose the sense of community we were raised in, not because we want to, but because we accelerate the pace of life.
In economics, we call this the J-Curve Paradox or, in simpler terms, human nature wanting more. We cannot say this happened because the government grew the economy. On the contrary, today we are in a better economic position because, as a nation, we seized every opportunity – whoever created them. Now that we are in a different economic position, we must take the next step and speak about sustainability, including environmental sustainability, which means a better quality of life. We must ensure that what we plan today – even in architecture – respects the country’s character, and this priority must be given. As politicians, we have the moral duty not only to make decisions and speak with conviction but also to understand, explain, and propose solutions. A country’s success does not come from partisanship but from reaching compromises. Compromises for the good of the people must be the norm of this House, not the exception. If we do not protect future generations, we will be remembered as weak. When the electoral campaign opened, there was a national consensus that the economy was strong, securing the Labour Party’s re-election for the good work it had done.
Mr President, maturity dictates we must move away from populist narratives. We must never speak disparagingly about those who help us grow and generate economic wealth – especially workers, whoever they are. The economy is built on capital and labour. In this context, I appeal that when irregularities occur, we address the irregularities – not the person or their nationality. Human dignity must be fully preserved and respected. In a geopolitically turbulent world that has changed how we live as a continent and nation, we must be even more careful with our words. As a nation, we have always been welcoming, and we must avoid turning workers or businesses into scapegoats through narratives unworthy of this Parliament. Being here is a privileged position. Mr President, from here I appeal that whenever we have discussions, we act with maturity, consider what we say, and return to the ideological principles we believe in – not only as political parties but as a nation within the European Union.
Thank you.
