WATCH | Miriam Dalli: ‘Retaining subsidies is not irresponsible’

Miriam Dalli agrees with an early general election since the ongoing geopolitical situation needs government to focus on long-term issues that may arise. The energy minister sits down with Karl Azzopardi to discuss energy, subsidies, green projects and Roderick Galdes.

Miriam Dalli refutes the suggestion that an election was called now because of internal party disputes and insists government cannot ignore the volatile situation in the Middle East. 

“I think in times of instability, it is good to have the whole government focused on addressing the issue,” she tells me as we sit down for this interview. “I understand the prime minister’s thinking in calling the election now to have the necessary ground work in place and then focus on what needs to be addressed.” 

Dalli defends government’s subsidies policy, insisting a phasing out plan cannot be implemented when the global situation remains restless. Government has been heavily subsidising energy and fuel since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to keep electricity and pump prices stable. 

Dalli says the Russian invasion of Ukraine and now the war in Iran have shown government was right not to listen to advice on phasing out subsidies, as they have served to cushion the economic impact of these conflicts.  

The energy minister also says the subsidies have served as an investment in the country and its economy, preventing an increase in unemployment and facilitating growth.  

On open spaces, a central issue during the 2022 election campaign, Dalli defends the government’s track record. She says work on major open space pledges is ongoing, and their size and unique characteristics require a longer timeline for completion.  

“I must remind you the projects you have mentioned [St Anne Street, Santa Venera tunnels, Bormla and San Gwann] were given a seven-year timeline,” she tells me. 

On Roderick Galdes’s tug-of-war with party over his botched election candidature, Dalli is coy, pointing towards internal party structures and how the process must be respected. 

The following is an abridged transcript of the interview. 

I am interviewing you in the context of an election which came a year early. During his announcement, among the reasons cited for calling the election, Robert Abela mentioned the geo-political situation. But the government in 2022 was elected with a strong mandate, and you are constantly insisting you have the necessary systems in place to cater for international shocks. Was the election called to settle internal party affairs? 

Absolutely not. I think the prime minister was clear in his statement. We all are seeing what is happening internationally. When we speak about geopolitical instability, it does not only impact the energy sector, but a lot of things.  

I think in times of instability, it is good to have the whole government focused on addressing the issue. I understand the prime minister’s thinking in calling the election now to have the necessary ground work in place and then focus on what needs to be addressed.  

Not to be immediately political, but there is a big difference in how we as a government approach the sector and the Nationalists in Opposition. You had the PN’s leader addressing supporters saying government was fabricating the crisis, and Malta’s neutrality would prevent it being affected. You have different members of society looking at the situation— 

business owners checking stock prices, people relying on stable energy supply… 

A government in waiting would not overlook such an important thing that could have a big impact on the country. 

A feather in your cap as an administration has been your ability in sustaining stable energy prices despite global shocks like the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and now the issue concerning Iran. The main reason for this stability has been government’s contract with Electrogas for LNG supply. This agreement expires in August, at what stage of negotiations are you at? 

People have lived through these crises with us, and we have retained stable energy prices. I remember going to the Council of Ministers twice monthly trying to find a solution with my European counterparts, with some contemplating going back to using coal… and some did.  

We retained these stable energy prices because that financial and economic policy serves as a buffer in protecting people. Enemalta carries out a hedging system across a number of sectors. If I had to look from 2020 to now, Enemalta has already saved €116 million, which always helps. We also have different sources from where we get our energy—LNG, renewables and the interconnector.  

You asked me on the LNG contract, that is one of the contracts Enemalta is discussing, and has been ongoing since 2025 so that we can get the best prices while also ensuring stable supply. 

Do you have figures on how much this will cost? You are negotiating during a tense geo-political time. Will this new contract see us paying more for the agreement? 

It is not as simple as saying we will be paying more. It is still early to say whether we will pay more or less, as right now the LNG price is pegged with the Brent. Brent is the oil price, and we know how volatile it is right now. It is pegged to the oil price right now because when Malta introduced the LNG power station it was among the first, and the European markets were not as developed as they are now.  

Enemalta is also taking into consideration that if we enter into a fresh agreement now, given the situation in the Hormuz Strait, it is advised to enter into a shorter agreement, since from 2027 there will be a bigger supply of LNG on the market. This means Enemalta will go for a shorter contract so that it can get better value on the long-term. 

Subsidies are also a main topic during this electoral campaign. In the short-term subsidies are good at cushioning the country from international impacts, but in the long-term could it be, dare I say irresponsible, to have such a dependency on subsidies?  

It is not irresponsible as we are looking at subsidies as an investment in people, businesses and the economy. The PN has shown that for them subsidies are an expense that is not needed and they do not look at it as an investment. What is worse is they do not know how to sustain it. 

Many told us to phase out the subsidies—the European Commission, the Opposition—but God forbid we listened to them. We have had a number of situations, one after the other, which have not allowed for energy prices to stabilise. 

In the 2022 campaign one of the biggest issues were open spaces, and on the first days of the campaign, the Labour Party had pledged a number of big open space projects in Floriana, Regional Road, San Gwann and other places. Did you fail on these? 

No, they are projects on which work is ongoing. In 2020, we had launched a seven-year plan, as some of these projects require special infrastructural work since they are in the heart of localities and require more time than others. 

But let’s talk about these projects. The project we pledged for Bormla near the AUM—the tender is out and you had the appeals period; St Anne Street in Floriana we are in discussions with the community, with plans focused on the arches after which discussions will start to expand the project and the tender package is being vetted; in San Gwann we have an approved tender for the first phase which will see the car park moved underground.  

I think the project we have not progressed on the most is the milk factory site in Hamrun since discussions are ongoing on the relocation of the operations. On the Santa Venera roofing, we have carried out a number of studies, and engaged a tunnel expert as the tunnel will be extended and so the project needs the input of infrastructural experts. But we took the decision to delay it [the Santa Venera roofing] due to the Msida Creek project, and it does not make sense to create two major bottle necks in the country.  

But we have also focused on a number of other projects. My ministry alone saw the completion of 71 projects, some big some small. Wied Incita comes to mind and is the size of three football pitches. Our plan is to keep on increasing the space by the equivalent of another football pitch to make it even bigger.