Former PL figures joining PN shows workers no longer feel represented by Labour, Alex Borg says
At a party event in Fgura on Sunday morning, Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg said the PN had assembled a prepared and experienced team made up of professionals and younger candidates. He also highlighted that four former Labour Party members would be contesting with the Nationalists.
Borg named Charles Azzopardi, Ivan Bartolo, Edmond Cuschieri, and Conrad Borg Manche as the four aforementioned individuals, describing them as socialists who no longer felt the Labour Party represented workers’ interests. He said that today, the Nationalist Party is offering a clear vision for workers that the Labour Party lacks.
Borg thanked supporters for what he described as months of backing ahead of the next general election, while outlining a series of tax, transport, healthcare and immigration proposals that he said would form the basis of a future Nationalist government.
Addressing party supporters, Borg said every administration had achieved both positive and negative outcomes, insisting that the country needed to “learn from the mistakes that happened in the past” while building on what had worked well.
A central theme of the speech focused on the rising cost of living and pressure on middle-class families. Borg argued that one-time payments were not enough to address long-term financial strain and instead pledged permanent tax reductions aimed at individuals living alone, families, youths and pensioners.
He said a restructuring of the tax system would result in “a minimum of €1,200” in annual savings for every Maltese and Gozitan. Among the measures referred to were the removal of tax on Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increases, the abolition of succession tax and the removal of taxes on donations.
The PN leader also pledged to reduce the standard corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, while introducing a 15% tax rate for micro-businesses.
On demographic and infrastructure challenges, Borg said traffic congestion and overpopulation were among the biggest problems created over the past 13 years. He accused the government of allowing population growth to continue without a sustainable plan and said a Nationalist administration would introduce a “Population Levels Plan” to manage immigration and demographic growth.
Borg also proposed the creation of dedicated one-stop shops within Identità to reduce bureaucracy and streamline residency and permit services.
Turning to transport, Borg announced a proposal linking annual driving licence fees to vehicle usage. Under the proposal, cars driven less than 500 kilometres annually would be exempt from the yearly licence fee.
He criticised the Labour Party’s proposals encouraging families to purchase larger vehicles, arguing that such measures would worsen congestion rather than solve it.
Borg also reiterated his party’s commitment to major public transport investment, pledging that the first metro line would be completed within the first five years of a Nationalist government. Borg criticised the Labour administration for changing its position on an underground rapid transport system first proposed four years ago.
On pensions and healthcare, Borg pledged a €650 annual increase in pensions and promised free home doctor visits for elderly people. He also referred to plans for the construction of four new hospitals and the expansion of the Paola Health Hub.
Borg said the party had developed an artificial intelligence chatbot on its website to explain policy proposals to voters based on their personal circumstances.
RSS Feed Source: Independent Malta Former PL figures joining PN shows workers no longer feel represented by Labour, Alex Borg says