The Labour Party has unveiled a pre-budget document that the Nationalist Party sought to keep concealed from the public eye. During a press conference, Ministers Jonathan Attard and Byron Camilleri discussed the contents of what was meant to be the Opposition’s Pre-Budget document, which the Nationalist Party ultimately decided not to publish after months of alleged preparation.

A Failed Attempt

At the start of last summer, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech began drafting this document with the assistance of six senior party members, including the Deputy Leader, the Secretary General, and four other spokespersons. Initial drafts were completed on 23 July and an evolved version by early September. However, after consulting various experts, the Nationalist Party chose not to proceed with publishing its economic proposals.

Prior to Dr Grech becoming leader of the Nationalist Party, the party had regularly published a pre-budget document outlining its economic vision and proposals. Although Grech initially continued this practice in his first year, the document produced was fraught with mistakes, leading independent media to label it a “pre-budget mess.”

Consequently, the following year, instead of a comprehensive report, the Nationalist Party resorted to issuing a set of slides, which were similarly marred by errors and vague platitudes.

This year, the Opposition failed to publish anything substantial. However, this was not for lack of effort. Starting in early summer, a team comprising Grech, his deputy leader, the party secretary, and four spokespersons set out to create the 2025 pre-budget document. Despite a draft version being agreed upon on 23 July and an evolved version on 4 September, the authors ultimately conceded that they could not prepare the document in time for the budget due to negative feedback regarding its state and lack of concrete proposals.

Just weeks before the Government presented its own pre-budget document on 24 September, the Nationalist Party had prepared a 32-page document complete with photographs. Yet, it failed to pass the party’s internal review. Critiques of the document highlighted a significant lack of vision and policy in the areas of energy and infrastructure, with one author noting the need for “more substance” in these sections. On the topic of homeownership, while Grech publicly claimed to have proposals to assist young buyers, the document itself contained nothing concrete, prompting a reviewer to remark, “this needs work.”

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Bernard Grech promises to announce a major housing policy to help young people enter the property market

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What Bernard Grech said

What Bernard Grech proposed, or rather did not propose

Moreover, the party’s long-term vision for Malta was completely lacking in ideas, evidenced by the note indicating that this section would be completed once further insights were gathered, just weeks before the budget was due, despite the PN’s claims of having a vision for the country.

Fundamental Errors and Miscalculations

The report is filled with fundamental errors. For instance, it inaccurately states that the national debt for 2023 is €10.6 billion when the official figure was actually under €9.8 billion.

The National Statistics Office

It claims there are 23,790 persons employed in manufacturing and 12,761 in financial services; however, official data from April 2024 indicates there are 24,597 and 14,562 full-time workers in those sectors, alongside thousands of part-time employees. The projected increase in employment in these sectors over eight years would leave them with a workforce still below current levels.

NSO figures – the columns further to the right show data pertaining to April 2024

In addition to these critical inaccuracies, the document is also rife with empty rhetoric. For instance, it boasts that a new Nationalist government would recognise and reward the teaching profession to attract more youths into the vocation, yet lacks substantive proposals to achieve this goal. In another instance, the economic section promises a focus on “initiatives that deliver maximum impact with minimal resources” but fails to define what these initiatives would entail.

Dr Attard highlighted that the Nationalist Party’s inability to complete such a document after extensive effort underscores that the Opposition cannot be trusted with the leadership of the country. Since Grech became Party Leader, the Opposition has lost its capacity to act as a viable alternative Government, having completely abandoned its former competence in economic and financial matters. The Nationalist Party is now unable to publish its own financial accounts and has failed to produce a pre-budget document.

A Lack of Concrete Proposals

Dr Camilleri emphasised that while the Government is clearly focused on the drive towards quality rather than quantity in the economy, the Nationalist Party appears to be pursuing the opposite approach. In its unpublished pre-budget document, there is a stated aim to increase employment by 32,000. Given that each year, more Maltese individuals retire than new young people enter the workforce, this would necessitate the hiring of an additional 40,000 foreign workers. Thus, while Bernard Grech accuses the Government of wanting to raise the number of foreign workers, this target aligns with his own economic objectives.

To ensure the public is aware of the economic thinking—or lack thereof—of the Nationalist Party, the Labour Party published the Pre-Budget document in its entirety. The shortcomings of the document highlight the urgent need for the PN to reassess its approach to economic leadership and public accountability. Without a clear and realistic vision, the party risks further alienation from the electorate it seeks to serve, jeopardising its role as a viable alternative to the Government.