Former British PM Cameron’s comeback is a significant development that calls for thoughtful analysis, and it provides Malta with the chance to learn from the UK's political trajectory, given the shared historical connections. Anyone who follows international politics will have observed with keen interest what has been happening in the UK over the last couple of days. One year ahead of going to the polls, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak carried out the second reshuffle of his...

This morning's top world news, in a nutshell - Monday, 20th November 2023 Javier Milei, a volatile far-right libertarian who has vowed to “exterminate” inflation, has been elected President of Argentina. With nearly 95 per cent of votes counted, Milei, nicknamed El Loco (the madman) and who is often compared to Donald Trump and Brazil’s...

Beneficial public projects are at times jeopardised by a lack of clear and timely communication with the public and other stakeholders, which is essential for building trust and support for such initiatives. Public awareness of the importance of trees for livable and sustainable communities has grown significantly in recent years. Any government body or entity that needs to remove or replace trees, especially in urban areas, should be fully aware beforehand of the public backlash that they will likely face. Facts are important, but so are emotions. When community members are already emotionally invested in an issue, rational arguments based on facts or technicalities are unlikely to achieve the intended effect to shift public opinion, at least in the short-term. People...

The Opposition's claims that Budget 2024's capital expenditure allocation is not enough are contradicted by the facts and figures. The Opposition has criticised the Government because, it argues, the allocated capital expenditure in Budget 2024 is not enough. In reality, next year the allocation for this purpose is €905 million. This is well above the historical average and almost...

What the PN is saying vs the real facts and figures. Fact-checking 10 PN claims regarding Budget 2024 What the Nationalist Party is saying  The real facts and figures    The national debt is growing out of controlNational debt in 2012 was almost 70% of GDP; now it is 53%A year ago, the Minister for...

The proposed legislation concerning temporary workers aims to address several key concerns in the labour market, reflecting the government's commitment to meeting society’s evolving needs. The government is at an advanced stage of unveiling a significant draft legislation that concerns temporary workers. Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue, Andy Ellul, unveiled a bit more about what is expected to change once the law is in force, framing these...

On the 5th November last year, Malta lost one of its sons, who served the nation and its people as Prime Minister from December 1984 to May 1987. An appreciation of Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici (1933-2022). The news that Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici had left this world at the age of 89 on the 5th of November 2022 shocked and saddened many, even though it had been known for a long time that he was becoming increasingly unwell. Upon his death, a new chapter in his story began to...

Matthew Perry’s portrayal of friendship in the sitcom will turn out to be, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, “the sheltering tree” for others that he himself never found. The death of Matthew Perry last week brought a tear or two to those who had come to feel affection for the character he acted.  Wisecracker Chandler Bing brought ‘Friends to life with hiszingy one-liners and an uncanny ability to cut through any situation with...

Yesterday's Budget acknowledges the challenges posed by global economic uncertainty, inflation, and the rising cost of living, particularly impacting the working class. Government is committed to supporting the spending power of our families. That is the message that resonates loud out of the Budget for 2024, presented yesterday night; a Budget that intends to tangibly improve the purchasing power of the most vulnerable segments of...

When prices rise as suddenly and radically as they did last year, workers are in a particularly bad spot: consumers have no choice but to pay the prices asked for food and other essential products, while trade unions cannot just renegotiate the price of labour from one day to the next. Over the last decade, Malta has seen a significant distributional conflict between labour and capital, similar to that in the European Union and the USA.  The soaring inflation of late 2022 and early 2023 has made the situation worse.  As a result, workers...

The Budget 2024 unveiled yesterday under the theme ‘Malta Ġusta’ (A Fair Malta) has two main objectives. On the one hand, it aims to help counter the present challenges of families and businesses. On the other, the Budget highlights measures to ensure that our country will be able to seize the opportunities of the future and build a new prosperity. The Budget 2024 unveiled yesterday under the theme ‘Malta Ġusta’ (A Fair Malta) has two main objectives. On the one hand, it aims to help counter the present challenges of families and businesses. On the other, the Budget highlights measures to ensure that our country...

This is yet another Budget that signals stability and reassurance to people in uncertain times. If I had to describe the Budget 2024 in a single word, that would be ‘stability’. While presenting the second Budget of the current legislature yesterday night, the Minister for Finance and Employment succinctly provided a clear description of the current global...