Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546781
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS will give 'blunt' picture ert Abela at Castille that the Chamber of Commerce on 19 September publicly called on the government to come clean on the situation. Just a week earlier, they had heard Carua- na's stark assessment of public finances at the MCESD. The rosy picture Another source present at the MCESD meeting with Caruana, said it was frustrat- ing for the finance minister to speak in that way when most of his colleagues in Cabinet, including the prime minister, consistently paint a "rosy pic- ture". "But I was not surprised be- cause there is a difference between what Clyde Carua- na says and how his gov- ernment acts but then again, the finance min- ister is also a part of the government," the source said. A third source said the b i g g e s t p r o b l e m is that people are not getting the "real picture" and government is "unwilling to take corrective measures that may disturb the false sense of serenity" it wants to depict. They pointed at the grow- ing energy s u b s i d y and the g o v e r n - ment's in- ability to invest more in renewable e n e r - gy, which both the finance and energy ministers have posited as a solution to break the de- pendence on imported fuels. "The scheme that helps peo- ple invest in renewable energy is underfunded and erratic, making it difficult for house- holds and businesses to plan ahead," the source said. A fortnight ago, Clyde Caruana had expressed concern over the higher outlay to sub- s i d i s e d i e - s e l , which retails at €1.21 per li- tre—the lowest in the EU. The finance minister had told MaltaToday on 13 Sep- tember that the subsidy on diesel alone had more than doubled in three months to around €75 million as a result of international market move- ments. Before the election, Caruana had said the government put aside a €250 million buffer to shield consumers and motor- ists from higher energy and fuel costs in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran. But af- ter the election, international oil and gas prices took a steep- er upward trajectory, prompt- ing the finance minister to tell MaltaToday on 13 September that he would need to take "a closer look at other areas of expenditure". Advisory council warning Caruana has made it clear that he wants to stick to the deficit target of below 3%. This means that to keep en- ergy subsidies intact and up- hold the election super bonus pledge, the finance minister will have to curb expenditure in other areas of government. In its assessment of public finances for the first half of the year, published on 1 Sep- tember, the Malta Fiscal Advi- sory Council, an independent government body, had recom- mended government contain expenditure growth in the second half of the year. "Expenditure has increased strongly during the first half of the year across several re- current and capital expend- iture categories, leaving in- creasingly limited room for further expenditure growth if the annual projections are to be respected," the MFAC warned. "In this context, any new expenditure initiatives should, as far as possible, be accommodated within exist- ing allocations and supported by clearly identified financing or offsetting measures." The significant expendi- ture before the May election and the subsequent upward pressure on energy subsidies caused by international insta- bility, has forced the Finance Ministry to apply the brakes. Sources within government told MaltaToday that entities across the board have been told to freeze unnecessary spending. "We are being told to justify every single item of expendi- ture," a senior officer in one of the authorities said, add- ing that they were bracing themselves for "no or little increase" in next year's budget allocation. Caruana reportedly told MCESD members not to go to him with wish lists because he had "nothing to disburse" A third source said the biggest problem is that people are not getting the "real picture" and government is "unwilling to take corrective measures that may disturb the false sense of serenity" it wants to depict Clyde Caruana