Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462122
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MARCH 2022 8 INTERVIEW Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt A vision for a new Malta Dr Grech, it looks like a stra- tegic choice has been made in this election by the PN not to make corruption a central theme of the election cam- paign, despite the importance it holds for mainly PN voters... I think it was a natural choice, not just strategic. Today no- body is in doubt that the peo- ple who have captured Labour and have been in power for ten years, have brought about un- abashed corruption. They are the personification of corrup- tion. In 2017, Simon Busuttil had the job to convince peo- ple that there was in fact cor- ruption. Today, greylisting is the mark of that corruption – one does not need much to convince people about that. We have a confirmation there, and also from the courts, that the State was instrumental in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. I didn't need to tell voters that these people are corrupt... my duty was to address this corruption, which is why I pre- sented the PN's omnibus bill on a silver plate to the prime minister, giving him the op- portunity to fix our reputation well before the election. But they voted against, because they are happy with this state, with absolute control of the institutions, abusing of public funds during an election to buy votes, and to be associated with criminals and mafia-types. Today, the choice the people have is: Robert Abela, who did not change things or accept my hand in friendship to change them, and a change in govern- ment, if they want to clean up the country. And still the polls are show- ing a substantial gap in voters who seem to be uninterested in this appeal. Labour might lose its 'super majority' but it is bound to retain an unprec- edented majority anyway. And abstentions from Labour pockets are still not favouring the PN with their vote. Is that your failure? No. I recognise the difference I have made in the party, in the sense that it is better organ- ised, a regenerated party, treat- ing politics from a different an- gle, a warmer party and closer to people. This is who I am, and that's my wish to be au- thentically close to the people. Yes, there is a gap, substantial indeed, but I won't speculate on voters' wishes. But I can tell voters it is useless for people to be frustrated by Labour, sor- ry about the death of Caruana Galizia, or worried about the future of this country if they don't vote... on 27 March, it will be another Abela adminis- tration, the continuity and ar- rogance that has marked these last years of his administration, him as the former consultant to the Muscat Cabinet... But what is your target... what's a decent result for the PN in this situation? My target is putting forward the PN's vision. Labour's is just proposals – ours are propos- als that bring about solutions. Corruption? It's a change in government that can solve that. We've been over a year since the Ombudsman's tenure has expired; Abela ignores my advice on who to appoint, and retains the status quo nonethe- less. PBS: controlled by Abela, not free to broadcast the news as it really is, discussion pro- grammes removed from prime- time on TVM and thrown into a less watched channel. Why does he want all this power? I want the opportunity to change this country, together. Let me jump to some propos- als, particularly one on which neither party is eager to com- mit itself to: a raise in the min- imum wage. Labour says it is in favour, but does not say by how much; you prefer a living wage or living income, and promises tax credits to busi- nesses that would do so. But don't you think that a rise in wages is what is needed now – you even proposed a four- weeks' salary bonus for health and education workers... why not raise basic wages now? We can't confuse that bonus with the minimum wage. We want to recognise frontliners by giving them a bonus, which is what Abela won't do, except for perhaps a theatrical ap- plause... we'll put money where our mouth is. What's the living income ex- actly? It's not defined yet, because that's something we must de- cide together with stakehold- ers. When you are in govern- ment you have the money and consultants to decide this... It's not a mandatory increase, right? It is not... I think that's the problem right there. And with a carrot- and-stick approach such as the ESG criteria you are pro- posing, it is giving businesses the benefit of the doubt as to whether they would actually raise wages... We can arrive to a higher minimum wage. It is useless giving you a decent pay with- out a guarantee that you would not be working a substantial number of hours. I can't pay you more without giving you the amount of hours necessary to earn a living. Remember we have other proposals: tax cred- its for employers who raise wages by €60 a month. I don't believe in forcing people, but incentivising them. With ESG criteria, I am offering a 15% tax if a business reinvests up to €500,000 of their profits in the company... But is it true that the absolute majority of Malta's SMEs and micro-businesses are already not ESG-compliant and they are yet to achieve anything close to that status? Labour too wants companies to be ESG-compliant. I am say- ing that we should incentivise PN leader Bernard Grech has an alternative vision for Malta but he finds himself looking at an insurmountable gap of voters who still cannot see in the PN the solutions the country needs. Matthew Vella sat down with the Opposition leader to pick his brain about aspects of the PN's 2022 election manifesto