PN calls for statistics agencies to be allowed to work without political pressure

The Nationalist Party has called on finance minister Edward Scicluna to let the national statistics office carry on with its work without political pressure.

In a press statement, the PN made reference to comments Scicluna made during a meeting on the budget, where he called the statistics ‘perverse’. The party accused Scicluna of blaming the data provided by the NSO and Eurostat instead of facing up to his problems.

“Aside from ridiculing our country before international institutions, this further betrays the hypocrisy of the Labour government,” the statement reads.

“In fact Scicluna himself regularly quoted Eurostat and NSO data to attack the Nationalist government during the previous legislature.”

The statement also referred to an article, written by Scicluna and published in the 12 March 2012 edition of the l-Orizzont, where he denounced ‘cosmetic alterations’ made to statistical data in order to give a better image of a country’s economic situation.

The statement concluded by calling on Scicluna to carry out promises he made to the Maltese people and to allow statistics agencies to work unhindered.