The Maltese government has already spent up to €60 million in additional fuel and electricity subsidies to tamp down fuel and electricity prices which have risen as a result of the war in Iran. This will push the overall bill for the fuel and electricity subsidies for this year way above the €200 million mark.
The Labour government is planning a raft of recurrent expenditure programmes which will raise the level of subsidies provided every year by the government to up to €0.5 billion per year but the figure can go higher. This expenditure is sperate to the recurrent expenditure on social services and pensions which are also rising.
Previously, according the Financed Minister, the fuel and electricity subsidies were meant to be phased out as the country moves ahead with a plan for renewable energy sources. This plan doesn’t seem to exist however given that the Labour Party is pledging in its manifesto to increase the share of Malta’s renewable energy sources from the current 10% level to 25% by the end of 2030. This goal will hardly serve to wean off subsidies unless the Finance Minister is thinking of a long-term plan in terms of decades.
The Labour Party is currently attacking the Nationalist Party for coming up with proposals and pledges impulsively instead of providing a coherent vision with an accurate forecasted plan. The Labour Party doesn’t have the authority to make this criticism because it is governing by improvisation with its plans changing according to political convenience.
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