Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1300699
7 maltatoday | TUESDAY • 20 OCTOBER 2020 BUDGET2021 A short-sighted budget forgets the future - Bernard Grech NICOLE MEILAK BUDGET 2021 is a short-sighted exercise that does not address the bleak future through long-term proposals, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said. In a first reaction to the budget, he insisted the budget only addressed the present and lacked creativity. Grech called it an exercise in recycled ideas that drew on proposals floated by the Nationalist Party in its pre-budget document. He took credit for budget proposals to help start-ups, foster e-commerce and the voucher scheme, which he said were ideas conceived by the PN. But short of these measures, Grech in- sisted the government lacked a plan for the future. "We are living in extraordinary times, and we were expecting extraordinary measures," he said in a press conference after the budget. "What Robert Abela proposed has im- mediate effects but does not address any long-term problems. He is more concerned with the upcoming election than he is with strengthening the Mal- tese economy with a concrete plan," Grech said. Asked what additional measures the PN would have taken to create a "for- ward-looking" budget, Grech said the party's pre-budget document showed how this could be done. "In that document we put short-term measures, medium-term and long-term proposals so that this country does not only address current problems but will be able to recover and the economy would gain strength once again," he said. He noted that macroeconomic indi- cators showing a 59% debt-to-GDP ra- tio and 5.9% deficit are signs that the economy has taken a significant blow throughout the pandemic. He also re- ferred to previous deficit figures that already pointed towards a weakening economy. Grech will give his formal reaction in parliament on Monday when he will deliver the Opposition's replica to the budget. It will be his first budget-reac- tion speech since becoming leader of the PN. "What Robert Abela proposed has immediate effects but does not address any long-term problems. He is more concerned with the upcoming election than he is with strengthening the Maltese economy with a concrete plan"