Robert Abela promised on Sunday that his government would be on the people's side when building development was not in the interest of the common good.

Speaking at a Labour Party event held in a government school in Kirkop, the prime minister told supporters he would not deceive them by promising construction would stop entirely, but he said he understood that there were proposed developments which would see the community lose more than it gained. This was when the government would step in to protect the people's interests, he said. He did not specify what projects he was referring to. Last week Times of Malta reported that 69 villas are to be built along the shore of Xgħajra, a Labour stronghold.

"We understand what people are feeling and we will be on the people's side. We will find the solutions our community deserves," he said.

"The interest of the many must always win over the interest of the few and we will continue to show that through our ambitious reforms for the construction sector."

This was Labour's electoral manifesto pledge two years ago, Abela said, and the government was delivering on that promise by balancing economic growth with increasing social housing units, while protecting the environment.   

Abela made no mention of revelations that an internal Bank of Valletta review found red flags over potentially “suspicious” transactions between his and his wife's bank accounts.

On Sunday, Times of Malta revealed that a BOV internal review of Robert and Lydia Abela's accounts, carried out soon after he became prime minister, highlighted, among others, "suspicious" transactions totalling €640,000 made by the then Labour MP to his wife between 2017 and 2019.

A spokesman for Abela told Times of Malta, however, that the review “raises ridiculous and maliciously false assertions, with the evident intended purpose for this report to be leaked and spun”.

'PN distracted by populism and partisan games'

Abela said the PN was distracted by populist rhetoric and partisan games.

While Labour's parliamentary group met regularly to discuss taking the country forward, the PN's parliamentary group met to discuss who they would boycott next.

"They decided they would not support any person from Joseph Muscat's cabinet for the presidency, then they decided they would not support Aaron Farrugia's appointment to the International Maritime Organisation," he said.

"How can you aspire to run a country when you only think about who you're going to be cruel to? Unlike them, we're focusing on remaining positive," he said.

'Strongest economic growth in the EU'

Abela also recalled this time four years ago, when the first COVID-19 case was found in Malta. He said the country could only plough through the challenges it faced thanks to a strong and united government.

Four years on, he observed, Eurostat figures published last week show Malta registered the strongest economic growth in the EU.

Robert Abela speaking at a political event at Kirkop government school on Sunday. (PL photo.)

The figures showed that Malta's economy grew by 4.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

"In the years to come our country will have the most dynamic economy in Europe," he said.

"We must continue to discuss how this party can remain a progressive party. We must focus on how we will continue to modernise the economy."

He said that in the two years since the last election, the government invested almost a billion euros in capital projects - in infrastructure, medical and sporting facilities, schools, and building restoration, among others, and it would continue to improve pensions in coming years.

"You can't trust that massive investment in the hands of amateurs who were not even able to file their own accounts with the Electoral Commission," he said with reference to the PN.

"They destroyed their own party and burdened it with millions of euros of debt. Just imagine what they would do if they had to be trusted with the country."

'500 women joined the workforce every month'

Abela also said Labour's time in government has been an unprecedented success for women. Before 2013, female participation in the workforce was "the worst in Europe", he said, whereas today it was "among the best" and had surpassed the EU average.

In the last four years, 500 women joined the workforce every month, and almost two-thirds of them were graduates, he said. The number of women with degrees has reached 60,000, and whereas, until four years ago, only one out of every five managers was a woman, today two out of every five are women.

"We're still not where we would like to be. There is more to do to push forward women's rights in the workforce," he said, reminding supporters that Labour was the party that introduced free education for all and first gave women the right to vote.

Labour replies on taxation

In a reaction, the Labour Party claimed the opposition leader never paid tax before becoming a politician and he was the only one who had explaining to do, particularly from where he got the money to pay what he was supposed to pay over several years. 

The prime minister never had issues with the authorities and he could understand the people because he worked hard and paid his taxes.