David Spiteri Gingell accuses PN of fuelling ‘poisonous, xenophobic’ narrative on foreign workers

Governance consultant David Spiteri Gingell has criticised the Nationalist Party's rhetoric on foreign workers, accusing the party of pushing a “poisonous, xenophobic” narrative that misleads the public about Malta’s demographic and economic realities.

In a lengthy LinkedIn post published after this newsroom analysed the PN’s messaging on migration and foreign workers, Spiteri Gingell argued that the party’s repeated references to “foreigners” are aimed squarely at Third Country Nationals (TCNs), rather than EU citizens.

He said the demographic crisis Malta faces has been evident “for decades”, pointing to the pension reforms he chaired between 2004 and 2012 and subsequent work he carried out under a Labour administration. The data, he insisted, shows Malta’s population is ageing and shrinking, with the country increasingly dependent on foreign workers to sustain key sectors.

Spiteri Gingell said Malta must “embrace” TCNs rather than merely “tolerate” them, as other developed countries do to fill labour shortages and strengthen their economies. Malta’s own social and economic progress, he argued, has led to widespread upward mobility, with more young Maltese holding tertiary qualifications and moving into professional careers.

“That success has consequences,” he wrote, saying roles such as cleaners, carers, hotel workers, orderlies and drivers are increasingly filled by foreign workers because “the jobs Maltese once did are not the jobs their children will do”.

He warned that attempts to restrict TCNs would not result in Maltese returning to such roles, but would instead cause essential sectors like tourism, care services, transport and hospitality to “stall” and eventually “break”.

Spiteri Gingell also dismissed the notion that automation or AI could replace these workers in the near future, noting that while such technologies exist abroad, Malta has neither adopted nor piloted them.

“TCNs keep Malta functioning,” he wrote. “And the PN knows this. Yet it continues to fuel resentment and fear, because it thinks this will win it votes.”

He urged the PN to “stop pumping hatred into the national bloodstream”, calling its current approach “reckless”, “dishonest” and “dangerous”.