Scicluna: Let’s hope electoral pledges are responsible, carefully studied

Finance minister Edward Scicluna has warned against ‘race to the bottom’ with wild statements on energy and the minimum wage

Edward Scicluna said that both the European Commission as well as the International Monetary Fund have given a positive outlook on Malta’s economy (File photo)
Edward Scicluna said that both the European Commission as well as the International Monetary Fund have given a positive outlook on Malta’s economy (File photo)

Finance minister Edward Scicluna has said that with an election only one year a way, he hopes that the country can avoid a “race to the bottom,” with unrealistic promises being made.

While it is a good thing for the party in opposition to have a plan - as the government will - Scicluna said, any proposals should be studied carefully. He pointed to the debate on the minimum wage, as well as a number of promises by the Opposition to revaluate the country’s position on energy.

Scicluna also warned against “individuals” who were tarnishing the reputation of the country’s financial services sector, insisting that it was not only politicians who were doing so.

“I have met the German finance minister and he said that they have no issues with Malta,” Scicluna said, pointing out that there was full collaboration with tax authorities in other countries.

He pushed back against claims that Malta was home to any “secret companies”, adding that the country must defend itself against “lies” on the matter.  

Scicluna was addressing a press conference together with parliamentary secretary for EU funds Ian Borg, where the two discussed the findings of four reports published over the past weeks that have analysed Malta’s performance over the past year.

Scicluna said that both the European Commission as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had given Malta’s economy a positive review, adding that it was clear from the reports that the economy was to remain robust.

He pointed to the positive outlook given to Malta by the rating agency Fitch and stressed that the government had started from a position where the outlook was negative. “We then moved on to stable, which is good in and of itself, and now we have been upgraded once again,” he said.

The minister rejected a number of claims that he said are commonly referred to in the media, such as on the redistribution of wealth. “This is sometimes further manipulated, with people saying that poverty is increasing.”

He said that it was clear from the European Commission’s annual report that this was not the case, with the report stating that wealth was being created and distributed across the whole of society.

A second criticism, Scicluna said, was that government spending was out of control. He argued that this is not true, especially given that the deficit has gone down once again when compared to last year.

“At the very least, the government deserves credit where it is due. The energy plan was not easy to implement and remains a struggle because of opposition to it, but it has had a big impact on economic growth,” he said.

Scicluna acknowledged that some issues had not yet been solved, such as the high number of early school leavers and making good on the government’s pledge to cut down on bureaucracy. "Ultimately, however, every country faces problems and the government is determined to continue working on areas that are still of concern," he said.

Borg pointed out that strong GDP figures, as well as record-low unemployment figures were proof that the economy is strong. Moreover, he said that the EU’s country report clearly stated that poverty and social exclusion were decreasing, and that Malta is tackling social issues through its policies.

He said that a number of initiatives making use of EU funds, such as grants, being given to help employers strengthen their workforce, grants to small and medium enterprises for research and innovation, as well as those facilitating investment in renewable energy, had all had an effect and contributed to the positive outlook on Malta shown in the reports.