Abela pledges ‘unprecedented’ Budget investment to address Malta’s low birth rate

Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged an “unprecedented investment” in the upcoming Budget in measures targeted at addressing Malta’s low birth rate.

Interviewed by John Bundy on ONE TV on Sunday, Abela spoke about a raft of topics including abortion, planning and development, mass transport, and the chances of an early election.

Asked about the country’s low birth rate – something which Abela’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has described as an existential threat to the Maltese race, Abela said that the upcoming Budget will cater for this in an “unprecedented” manner.

“A strong family means a strong society.  We are moving towards a Budget where families will be at the centre,” he said.

Explaining the principle behind the measures that the Budget will include, Abela said that it goes along the line that “financial considerations should not stop families from having the amount of children they want.”

“There will be an unprecedented investment in the Budget,” he said.

“The State must aim to allow families to satisfy their wishes to have as many children as they want.  The choice remains free – but the State needs to be there to assist you.  The help will be unprecedented. We are recognising the situation,” he continued.

Government has no mandate to introduce abortion, Abela says

Speaking about abortion – a day after a pro-abortion protest in Valletta – Abela said that the government does not have a mandate to introduce abortion.

He however said that he disagreed with a recent court sentence which handed a suspended prison sentence – something which Abela equated to a prison sentence regardless – to a woman who had an abortion.

In the case, a 28-year-old woman was handed a 22-month prison term, suspended for two years. Abela said that he had delved into the case and saw that the decision for an abortion was not done “capriciously.”

“I don’t think it’s a sentence which was right,” Abela said. “Am I in favour of sending mothers to prison? No, never. There are other alternatives that could have been used as in previous cases…  I think this [sentence] crossed the line,” he said.

‘This legislature ends in March 2027’

Speculation has been rife that Abela will call a general election early, but asked about the possibility, Abela was not moved.

“Next week,” he initially joked, when asked when he’d call the next general election.

“The legislature has a year and a half left to go, this legislature ends in March 2027,” he then said.  Asked whether he’d complete the legislature, Abela simply said: “Pleasures yet to come.”

“The people have given me a mandate of five years,” Abela said as he noted that his party has 1,000 measures to fulfil and that so far 70% of them have been done, and there is the time to finish the rest and then some.

Abela against proposal for 13-storey development in Xlendi

Asked about construction and planning, Abela said that he had to be realistic: “If I say that we must close the construction industry, I am telling 30,000 families to find another livelihood. But I’m not going to go to another extreme and say that towers should be built in Gozo.”

His reference was to a statement by PN leader Alex Borg – although Borg said days later that he does not want any towers in Gozo.  That, Abela said, was “a classic u-turn” which he had only done “for convenience because he saw people’s reactions.”

Abela also commented on a proposed 13-storey block in Xlendi, saying that this was too much and that he doesn’t want to see Xlendi suffocated and that it is up to the Planning Authority to now ensure that there is moderation that takes into consideration the development’s surroundings.

He also pointed out how Borg, when asked about this development, had not wished to comment and instead referred to the need for a skyline policy.

“He wants to do a policy, give the opportunity to his friend to build it, sell it, and then see from there,” Abela said.

Prime Minister wants two parties to converge on idea of mass transport

On mass transport, Abela said that just because the topic had not been in the headlines, it doesn’t mean that work had stopped.

He said that the company Arup had continued its studies and that it will be in Malta to give a presentation to Transport Minister Chris Bonett and the government on their work. “We never abandoned this project,” Abela said.

The Prime Minister continued that his aim is to reach a point of convergence with the Opposition on the topic of mass transport, because it is a project that will span multiple legislatures if it is to be undertaken.

Right now, the government is advocating for a mass transit system that is largely underground, while the PN is advocating for a trackless tram system which is overground.

“I don’t want to be in a situation where the two parties are disagreeing, because this will take 20 years to do if we want to do it in full,” Abela said.

He said he disagrees with the PN’s idea, questioning where on Malta’s roads this can be implemented today, and insisted that he wanted to reach a point of convergence.

Recognition of Palestine a step towards removing Hamas – Abela

Commenting on his time at the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, Abela lamented on present-day realities were world leaders were discussing two ongoing wars and other conflicts when in an ideal world it is topics such as the economy and renewable energy that should be being debated.

“We continued to debate these, but they are overtaken by war. In 2025, should the world be seeing atrocities or seeing how it can improve life?,” Abela questioned.

Asked about the topic of Malta’s recognition of Palestine, which was announced by Abela at the UN in New York, by interviewer John Bundy – who himself said that he did not agree with this step – Abela said that it was important that there is an agreement that Hamas should not be in Palestine.

“I believe that our recognition of Palestine will help Hamas be removed from the situation,” Abela said.

He said that Malta had consistently condemned the escalation of violence by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and called for the hostages to be returned, and that in statements on the Palestinian state he had made it clear that “Hamas can never have any role whatsoever in a Palestinian state.”

“But you don’t get to that situation by stopping Palestine from having its own state,” Abela continued.

“I cannot go to Hal Far, speak to refugees from there and tell them that we want a two-state solution, but then not recognise one of those states,” he said.