The decision to not call an election this year was a no-brainer because businesses deserved to flourish during the festive season, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Saturday.
In an interview on ONE radio, Abela said that when speculation on whether an election would be held in November was rife, for him the decision to put it off to 2022 was a no-brainer - the people would not go to the polls this year so as to not disrupt business.
"This is the choice that is in the national interest. We need national unity, especially come Christmas and we also need to let our businesses flourish during the festive season.
"Not calling an election was a clear decision because I am not interested in power or political strategies, things that that the PN is so fixated on," Abela said.
The prime minister accused the Opposition of being out to create uncertainty by talking up rumours of a snap election.
He went on to say that Malta's families also deserve to celebrate Christmas properly this year, although he did not get into any details on what this meant.
Abela simply said families deserve to enjoy themselves after "all their effort" during the pandemic.
"Our families deserve to enjoy themselves this Christmas, after all this effort. The key to all this remains the vaccine. I am optimistic while also cautious. I believe that today, the best way to look out for each other, we take the vaccine.
"I understand some people might have their reasons (for not taking the vaccine) but I cannot stop appealing to the people to take the jab," Abela said.
Health Minister Chris Fearne has said, should COVID-19 numbers remain stable, Malta may be in a position to ease all restrictions on events for the festive period.
Energy prices situation 'worrying'
Abela went on to comment on the "worrying situation" of the global increase in energy prices.
"The world is trying to recover following COVID-19 and then you have energy prices going up. It's a worrying situation. We made sure, throughout the pandemic, as we did in other years, to keep the energy prices steady," Abela said.
He insisted the government did not want to put additional pressure on the people but it had to be the government that carries such a burden. This, despite Malta having just one electricity distributor [Enemalta] and relying on the interconnector.
We need to keep our families and businesses at the heart of everything, he said, because if the people have to carry the burden, there will be a ripple effect that negatively impacts the economy.
On unemployment, the prime minister said that while other countries were struggling with workers who are unable to find job, the situation in Malta is the opposite. Employers, he said, continue to struggle to find workers as only 1,257 people did not have a job this week.