Economic discourse sees shift from bread and butter issues to quality of life

The economic focus during the European elections campaign was influenced by Malta’s changing priorities due to expanding economy - Gordon Cordina.

These European elections saw local discourse connected with the economy shifting from a focus on bread a butter matters to issues connected with quality of life, economist Gordon Cordina said.

Cordina said that as Malta’s economy grows, the country’s priorities are changing, which is reflected in the type of economic themes which feature in the electoral debates.

Asked by BusinessToday whether discussion on the economy took second place during the MEP elections – except when it came to the issue of tax harmonisation – Cordina said economic topics still played an important role.

“I think the economy still featured in an important way during these European elections, for instance in discussions on the allocation of social goods such as housing, environmental matters, more equality, and the ways the labour force is growing and the implications of this on infrastructure,” Cordina said.

“If you look at the basic definition of economics, this relates to the best allocation of resources to meet social needs and wants in the most adequate manner possible. And money is only a tiny part of this,” he remarked.

“Therefore, it is the priorities which are changing in our economic discourse, and this is an effect of a growing economy.”

He underlined that people’s priorities were generally no longer associated with bread and butter issues, but with having an improved quality of life.

“We now have to graduate from growth into development, and this will entail a more holistic quality of life approach,” he said.

Questioned on how tax harmonisation across the European Union could impact Malta’s economy, Cordina said he preferred not to comment on the matter.

‘Opposition could not attack on economic growth’ - Alfred Sant

Former prime minister and Labour MEP Alfred Sant told BusinessToday that, during the MEP campaign, the Opposition was unable to attack the government on the economic growth aspect, since this was doing well.

He said that the economy was not a main theme during the campaign, with the notable exception of the issue of tax harmonisation.

“The Opposition could not attack on the economic growth aspect. The economy was not a principle factor, except for the fact that the Maltese economy could be affected by fiscal developments related to tax rates across the EU,” Sant said.

“Tax harmonisation was a concern due to the movement towards harmonised taxation rates in Europe, at the level of the European Council, European Commission and European Parliament,” he said.

If proposals for a uniform tax rate are put into effect, this would then constrain financial services in Malta, which are one of the biggest contributors to economic growth, the MEP warned.

Economy one of main points of the elections - Kristy Debono

The PN’s economy spokesperson, Kristy Debono, said that, contrary to perception , the bread and butter issues and the economy were one of the main points raised during the election, together with the environment, health, democracy, the rule of law and the protection of life.

“All these were reflected black on white in our electoral manifesto,” Debono said.

“Labour’s economic model based on population growth, the ever-rising cost of living, cheap labour, the reputation of our financial services and high rental costs and the Socialists proposal of tax harmonisation across Europe are all economic issues addressed reapeatedly by the PN during this campaign,” she said.

Nationalist MP Claudio Grech sai d that the themes discussed during the electoral campaign were mostly tied to European issues.

“This reflects a better understanding of what the European elections are – they are not general elections but are essentially about how the people will be represented in the EU,” Grech, who was formerly the Opposition’s economy spokesperson, said.

“The way I see it as a PN MP is that the focus was more on the European context.”

The matter of tax harmonisation and its implications, however, could not be minimised, he noted.

“If you look at the knock-on effect tax harmonisation might have, the economic impact will be enormous, even from a social aspect,” Grech added.