Labour created an economy based on construction and consumption alone - Bernard Grech

Bernard Grech will be giving his Budget speech tomorrow night in Parliament

Bernard Grech has called out the Labour party for creating an economy based on "construction, consumption, and numbers alone" ahead of his first Budget speech in parliament tomorrow night. 

During a discussion on the party's media channel, Grech cited a "lack of maturity and wisdom" from government for failing to present a longer-term strategy in the budget document, including an economic vision for the next decade. 

He further referred to the government's handling of the pandemic. While praising the government for adopting immediate measures to deal with the pandemic, he pointed fingers at Robert Abela for going against the advice of national and internation experts and giving a false sense of security that the pandemic had passed.

Reacting to comments that the Nationalist Party may have been too negative towards the budget measures, Grech refuted this, insisting that an opposition is there to call out government on their mistakes. 

"Politicians are there to do what is right [...] if they fail to do as such, the media and the opposition are there to point this out and help politicians correct their shortcomings."

He concluded by calling for a new political vision that offers hope and builds on unity. "We need to strengthen together because in unity there is strength, because we can rely on each other's skills to reach goals, because we speak to people, we listen to people, and we discuss with people."

"No government has a magic wand - they need to consult with social partners," he said.