[WATCH] Positive statistics contradict PN negativity - Labour Party

Labour MP Silvio Schembri says the Nationalist party is divided and its largely negative faction is twisting the facts instead of welcoming positive outcomes • Video by Ray Attard

Deputy PL leader Toni Abela said that the recent statistics showing unemployment drops in Malta were proving that the Opposition was twisting facts to present a false reality.

Abela was referring to Eurostat figures showing that Malta had the second lowest unemployment rate in the EU, at 5.1%.

He added that the majority of jobs being created were not in the public sector, as the opposition was stressing, but that 8 out of every 10 new jobs actually belonged in the private sector. Abela further explained that the jobs being created in the public sector were namely in the health and education sectors and questioned whether the PN would continue to strengthen these sectors should it come back into power.

Labour MP Silvio Schembri said that the recent negative attacks proved that the Nationalist party was divided into two; a negative faction led by PN leader Simon Busuttil and deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, and a more moderate and truthful faction led by PN deputy leader Mario de Marco.

"Recent criticism shows that unfortunately, it is the negative and destructive faction that is winning at the moment," he said.

Schembri pointed out that De Marco often issued statements to “welcome” figures showing positive economic turns, and that he had even contributed to the recently unveiled residency plan alongside the government, but that these positive comments were often overshadowed by negative and confrontational releases issued later on.

Quoting Eurostat figures, Abela said that Malta also held the second lowest youth unemployment rates at 8.7%, following Germany, and that initiatives such as the Youth guarantee had been particularly helpful in this regard.

Abela stressed that the government’s efforts to cut down fuel bills had essentially yielded more investment into the country’s economy.

“The government is investing a further billion Euros into new projects like Bart’s Medical University, the new hospital at Smart City and the American University of Malta among many others,” Schembri said.

Schembri said that facts would continue to negate the opposition’s negativity and that the government would continue to strive against unemployment and precarious work regardless of the positive figures it receives.

Opposition says Maltese families don’t feel the effects of the positive numbers

In a response to the PL press conference, the Nationalist Party said that Maltese families do not feel the effect of the positive figures.

“It’s useless for Muscat to boast about the numbers when it is only the chosen few who can enjoy the positive performance of the economy,” the statement reads.

Referring to accusations of negativity, the party also criticised Joseph Muscat for sounding like a broken record in repeating this claim.

“Muscat is the one who is really being negative as he is opting to ignore the facts although he is being confronted by a flailing Government.”

PN added that although the number of unemployed had dropped, the real reason was that some 5,500 people were hired in the public sector.

“Furthermore, half of the new jobs in the private secotr are being taken up by foreigners due to the lower pays,” the statement adds quoting Emplyment ministers Evarist Bartolo.

The statmenet adds that the PN was acting as a untied mouthpiece for Maltese families regardless of the government’s labelling.