Election Playbook: Just a small town girl, she took the midnight ‘trackless tram’ going anywhere

PN talks trackless trams while Labour unveils their 1,000-pledge manifesto - this is how day 19 of the election campaign played out

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Trackless tram wreck: Bernard Grech came out with the costings for his party’s trackless trams proposal. Under the Nationalist Party, the new trackless tram system will cost €2.8 billion and will be completed by 2027, linking 45 localities. For comparison, the government’s metro plans are estimated to cost €6.2 billion and would be completed by 2042. Grech said that some roads would have to be widened for the tram, but added that many have roads have already been widened anyways, so the system will make use of what was already built. However, Gozo would remain tram-less, although Grech said he’s open to expanding to the sister island. 

Tit-for-tat: Friday brought with it some comic relief from independent candidate Nazzareno Bonnici, more widely known as Żaren tal-Ajkla. In a video uploaded to TikTok, apparently taken on International Women’s Day, the candidate vows to give women €4,000 so they can get breast implants. It is certainly a refreshing pledge, and it went down well with the chaps at the horsing stables where the video seems to have been taken.  

Laqwa proposta. 😂😂

Posted by Lawrence Michelle Grech on Thursday, March 10, 2022

Taxing lyrical: Clyde Caruana confirmed on Friday that the Labour Party’s pledge to lower the corporate tax rate will only apply to corporate profits that remain in the company. Shareholders will be unaffected by this pledge, and will have to pay whatever tax rate they pay now. This differs from the Nationalist Party’s pledge, which will lower the tax rate from 35% to 25% for companies and individuals. Under the Labour Party, it will only go down to 25% for the first €250,000 profits generated by the company.  

Labour’s game plan: The Labour Party headed to MCC to unveil their electoral manifesto, featuring a grand total of 1,000 pledges. Some highlights include proposing a “mature discussion” on voluntary euthanasia for those with a terminal illness, and better access to sterilisation for women who want it. The Labour Party pledges to draft a national socio-economic regeneration plan to stimulate economic activity and improve quality of life in localities that have fallen behind. 

Bundles of energy: ADPD insisted that Malta needs to be energy-sovereign, without relying on foreign countries for its energy generation. Cacopardo said this is a crucial issue for Malta, as the country relies on Azerbaijan for Gas, Sicily for the interconnector, and a power station in the hands of the Chinese. This is even more crucial given the precarious situation in Russia, with Azerbaijan enjoying close ties with Russia. Cacopardo suggested that our energy supply could be jeopardised in the process. 

Pledge of malfeasance: Volt Malta created a pledge for candidates to sign in which they vow not to give favours in exchange for votes, either personally, through government, or through friends and partners. All Volt and ADPD candidates signed the pledge, as has independent candidate Arnold Cassola. But candidates from the two major parties seem far less interested. From all the Labour candidates, only Alicia Bugeja Said signed the pledge. On the PN side, just Albert Buttigieg and Maria Fatima Deguara took the pledge. Rosianne Cutajar and Ray Abela are ineligible as they’ve already been caught red-handed delivering freebies.  

Any new proposals?: Grech gave a run-down of the PN’s transport proposals, including the introduction of trackless trams. Meanwhile, the Labour Party published their 1,000-pledge electoral manifesto. 

What’s happening today: The Labour Party will be in Qala for a Q&A at 6:30pm. The Nationalist Party will be in Għajnsielem for an activity at 6pm. Cassola will be holding a press conference in Paceville at noon and will be on TVM at 9pm for a short interview.