Alex Borg in first meeting with Robert Abela
PM disagrees with opposition leader on party financing reform, but leaders pledge mutual respect
The first official meeting between the leaders of the two main political parties on Friday evening highlighted an early point of disagreement, but both Robert Abela and Alex Borg pledged mutual respect.
In his opening remarks as he welcomed Borg to the Labour Party headquarters in Ħamrun, Abela said he disagreed with the opposition leader's proposal on public financing of political parties.
The cordial PL-PN meeting - a long held practice when one of Malta's main parties changes leader - comes after 30-year old Borg was crowned PN leader on Sunday morning following a tight election against Adrian Delia.
After being official sworn in as Opposition leader, Borg vowed to tackle party finance reform.
During his campaign, Borg had called for “full disclosure” of donations to political parties and said he was not averse to public funding to reduce party reliance on private donations.
In the first minutes of the meeting, the prime minister said he disagreed with the public financing of political parties.
"On party financing, we believe that taxes should be used for the common good. On this issue, we have a divergence of opinion," he said.
But Abela stressed that when they disagreed on certain issues, it should be done respectfully and without personal attacks.
He said the two parties will soon need to agree on appointing a chief justice, an appointment that requires the backing of two-thirds in parliament.
The Prime Minister added the two parties should also agree on long-term projects, including land reclamation and the regeneration of the freeport.
In his brief comments in the presence of the media, Abela said that the government will announce the budget date "in the coming hours".
Borg pledged to have a "respectful relationship" with the government and criticise it on political points, not through personal attacks.
"The opposition will not only be effective in holding the government to account but also act as an alternative government" Borg said.
He appealed to Abela to listen to the opposition arguing that whenever the government did so "the country always moved forward".
Borg pointed to reforms in Malta's citizenship process to a "citizenship by merit" system as a recent example.
He said that despite being elected as PN leader, he will work for all the country.
Abela accepted Borg's invitation to visit the PN headquarters in the near future.