The government is yet to explain why its debt rose by €372 million last year, even though its official deficit was just €208 million, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil said this morning.

Dr Busuttil, who was addressing members of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, noted that while the figures suggested that Malta’s deficit fell below the 3% excessive deficit threshold set by the EU, the huge discrepancy between deficit and debt figures was the elephant in the room.

He said that such discrepancies should only happen in exceptional cases – including when Malta contributed to bailing out another EU member state. He also pointed out that while the previous government had to grapple with recession, this was not the case at present.

The PN leader observed that Finance Minister Edward Scicluna chose to announce last year’s financial figures in a recorded address, thus failing to provide the media with the opportunity to raise such questions. He expressed his hope that such an opportunity would be given shortly.

Dr Busuttil also told MCESD members that rising unemployment was another elephant in the room, stating that while he recognised that a number of jobs were being created – a fact heavily publicised by the government, he pointed out – it was clear that this was not enough.

He noted that around 2,000 women were looking for work, stating that while he welcomed incentives encouraging women to join the workforce, it was also necessary to ensure that there were jobs available to them.

The PN leader also expressed concern about the “massive” increase in the number of young people looking for work, and expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the youth guarantee was being implemented.

Whilst he stressed that the PN agreed with implementing a youth guarantee – and also took care to point out that it had been discussed in the EU long before the Labour Party thought of it – it was not meeting the expectations that had been set by the government.

He noted that as a result of the guarantee, around 2,000 people were receiving training. While he said that this was a positive initiative, he questioned whether it provided enough of a guarantee.