Nationalist Party proposes bipartisan social pact for economic recovery

A bipartisan task force should be set up to craft a social pact for economic recovery, the Nationalist Party has proposed.

The PN said the task force should include government and Opposition representatives, unions, employer organisations and civil society representatives.

Opposition leader Adrian Delia and economy spokesperson Claudio Grech outlined the party’s proposal on Wednesday afternoon in what they described as “a plan for Malta”.

The PN is also proposing 10 policy pillars upon which the recovery plan should be built, including targeted, temporary and timely relief to all those enterprises that have been materially impacted by COVID-19.

The Opposition is also calling for a clear time-lined plan of decisions to encourage investor confidence.

It also wants the creation of a strong “indigenous” private healthcare sector to complement public healthcare services.

But the plan will also have to be forward looking by creating “innovative and comprehensive investment aid programmes” to support companies that want to transform their businesses.

Another policy proposal is to prioritise public spending on “growth pillars for industry” and the strengthening of the country’s infrastructure.

The recovery should be underpinned by the EU COVID-19 recovery and transformation fund.

Delia said this was the time for all players to pull the same rope. “This is not the time to be populist but a time of transformation to be prepared for future realities and move forward,” he said.

The PN leader said that the Opposition had consulted with all players and looked at what was being done abroad.

Delia said the current crisis brought about by COVID-19 restrictions had exposed the weakness of the economy’s foundations, which were built on a model that rested on population growth and consumption.

“This is why the Opposition is putting forward its plan for a joint effort to determine where we want to take this country,” he said.

He called on government to give direction, share information and be transparent about its intentions so that people could be able to plan ahead.

Grech said the Opposition was taking the unprecedented position of putting political considerations aside and be part of the drafting of an economic recovery plan that would be agreed by all.