The political manifestos • how the parties compare

All European parties have now approved their electoral manifestos for the forthcoming European elections. MaltaToday takes a look at the programmes of the three parties represented by local parties and how they compare

5 May 2014, 9:18am
by Jurgen Balzan

1 min read

Although Maltese voters are mainly concerned with local issues, Labour, PN and Alternattiva Demokratika are affiliated with their respective pan-European parties, which have a European manifesto, outlining their vision for the next five years.

While Alternattiva Demokratika and the European Green Party manifestos are identical, Labour and the PN do not agree with the European People’s Party and the Socialists & Democrats on a number of issues, particularly on the introduction of a financial transection tax and migration.

While EPP has not pronounced itself clearly on the introduction of a financial transaction tax, the European Socialists are proposing the introduction of a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on transactions made by financial institutions.

However, both Labour and the Nationalist parties oppose the tax, which they argue would damage the financial services sector, which employs over 7,000 and makes up around 10% of Malta’s GDP.

Jurgen Balzan was a MaltaToday reported from 2011 to 2017.