Surplus registered came at the expense of infrastructure – Simon Busuttil

When one looks between the lines of what the populist Government said yesterday, one realizes that the capital expenditure in the country has been slashed by half. The Government didn't say so because it is populist and it just cares about the headlines and not the full picture.

Partit Nazzjonalista Leader Simon Busuttil said this while addressing the European Democrats Students who are meeting at Dar Ċentrali, during the same week when the European People's Party organised its Congress in Malta. Simon Busuttil was reacting to the Prime Minister's press conferences regarding budget surplus.

Truth is, Simon Busuttil said, that the small surplus was registered only because of the fact that the capital expenditure has been slashed by 47%, which is very significant. This besides the fact that the recurrent expenditure still increased, which means that instead of investing in infrastructure, the Government is wasting money to try and get votes, he added.

Simon Busuttil said that people still have difficulties in making ends meet with their salary or their pension, precarious work is still there, whilst the equal pay for equal work principle does not exist because there are hundreds of people getting paid less than other people doing the same job. 

PN Leader Simon Busuttil said that this is the problem of populism and why it is important that it is tackled. "Populism is a threat and a challenge for the European Union, and until we address it, it is going to create problems for most of us, both at a national level, but also at a European level," Simon Busuttil added.

He also insisted that populists tend to speak about, ride over and exploit the problems for vote-catching, rather than speak about solutions. He said that it is time for true politicians to unite to beat populism, to cut their bluff and come clean with solutions. "We must challenge them to be honest," he said.

He referred to the Brexit debate, and reminded those present about what Nigel Farage used to say before the referendum, but then had no idea what to do after winning the Brexit referendum. He remarked that Brexit, instead of triggering the breakup of the European Union, triggered what could be the breakup of the United Kingdom. In fact, this week, the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of a referendum on the independence of Scotland. "There are consequences for populism, and the consequences can go beyond an electoral cycle," he said.

from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2mVlFhn
via IFTTT