Incoherence within the Opposition could delay important reforms meant to pass through the House in the coming months, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warned on Sunday.
In a recorded interview aired on the Labour Party's ONE Radio, Dr Muscat said that while the apparent split within the Nationalist Party could benefit Labour in the short term, it could also pose problems going forward.
The government, he said, had committed to pass a number of constitutional reforms through Parliament that required a majority of two thirds of the members to be approved.
If the Opposition remained fragmented then it would be more difficult to know whether these reforms would be backed by MPs or not.
One such reform, he said, was the PL’s proposal for an electoral mechanism to increase the number of women elected to the House.
The government had sought the Opposition’s position on its proposal, and even given it more time to come up with a stance, but it was so far unclear whether the PN MPs would support the change or not.
“I don’t think the Opposition would listen to my advice if I had to give it, but I believe the country needs a uniform Opposition that agrees on the direction it wants to take the country,” he said.
Muscat disagree with Brussels on tax concerns
Dr Muscat also weighed in on a recent European Commission report on Malta which called for reforms to the island’s tax regime.
Malta had been accused in the Country Specific Report published by the European Commission last Wednesday of having a fiscal system which encouraged “aggressive tax planning”.
Reacting to this Dr Muscat said that Malta was one of a number of countries that had been handed recommendations about their tax system.
He said it was also important to have “context” when reading these reports.
Malta was facing less recommendations today than in previous years having addressed issues previous flagged.
When it came to taxation however, Malta had told the Commission the same thing that other countries had also said: "We don't agree with your position".
Malta’s taxation system, just like those of other member states, had been approved when joining the EU, he said.
The Labour leader also dismissed the notion that Brussels was zeroing in on Malta, insisting that the country was no different to other member states when it came to the country specific reports.
“The tendency might be to find the section on Malta and just read that – I do that too, but then I also read what the Commission has had to say about other countries to get the full picture of what is going on,” he said.