The government’s promised increase in children’s allowance and student stipends is only intended to help it recover from its dipping popularity, PN leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.  

Speaking on NET TV, Grech said Robert Abela's promises came at the same time that finance minister Clyde Caruana is asking the population to tighten its belts.  

“Increases are good, but they are being given without any vision,” Grech said. “The government is giving them just to save itself,” he said. 

He said that the nationalist party would have tied an increase in student stipends and children’s allowance to voluntary work and efforts to recover Malta’s falling birth rate.  

Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged continued increases to stipends, pensions and children’s allowance grants during a yearly labour party Freedom Day address on Thursday evening. 

Abela said pensions would increase again next year and that the government intended to continue raising stipends and other grants, such as children’s allowances. He gave no indication of what increases were planned. 

His announcement came a few days after a Times of Malta poll showed that Labour's popularity has plummeted to its lowest in years with his own trust rating also taking a hit.  

Other surveys by Malta Today and It-Torċa showed similar indications.  

Grech also accused Abela of arrogance in announcing a measure at a party event instead of a government one.  

“They think the people’s money is their money,” he said. 

“Robert Abela is only close to the people when polls show he is unpopular or before an election,” he added. 

'Abela colluded with foreigners'

Grech said that in the last 10 years, many Labour MPs ran for election and re-election only to enrich themselves.  

He said that Abela continues to defend Rosianne Cutajar, Anton Refalo, and Joseph Muscat because he is weak and compromised. 

“What do they know,” Grech asked.  

He said that Abela is happy to defend foreign business interests like Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Healthcare but is not willing to listen to nurses and other healthcare workers.  

“You colluded with foreigners,” he said.  

Abela has known that the Vitals/ Steward deal is corrupt since 2021 but he kept defending them. But the people were now realising what was happening and were not only angry with Abela but also making fun of him for being weak.  

Sofia public inquiry 

Grech also reiterated his call for a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, who died in a Corradino construction collapse last December. 

Grech said that more questions arose the longer Abela resisted.

“How important are your interests,” he asked Abela.  

He said that Sofia’s family wanted a public inquiry to avoid a repeat of the tragedy. 

While a magisterial inquiry will only look at the immediate circumstances leading to Sofia’s death  a public inquiry will investigate everything, Grech said.