ADPD-The Green Party has dubbed the Government’s 2026 Budget as a “missed opportunity” to invest in Malta’s sustainable future and instead warned that the country is “accumulating debt while failing to promote wellbeing.”

In a statement, the Green Party insisted that “the Budget continues to finance growth through unsustainable borrowing rather than channelling funds into long-term social and ecological investments.”

“The Government is borrowing against our children’s future,” ADPD stated. “We are piling up debt to support a growth-model that exploits resources, deepens inequality, ignores our ecological limits and hampers future generations from taking their own decisions. This is fiscal irresponsibility, not sustainability.”

“Whilst the motivation for the family-friendly income tax measures in the budget speech may be laudable, the actual proposals are regressive and consequently do not implement social justice – those who are at the lower end of the income bracket should benefit much more than those at the upper brackets, for the simple reason they require much more help. This inversion seems to be beyond the Minister of Finance’s so-called socialist vision. It is a myopic vision,” said ADPD.

ADPD-The Green Party reiterated that real prosperity demands a shift to a wellbeing-economy based on fairness, justice and ecological limits. “The central plank of this vision is dignified wages: the minimum wage must become a living wage.”

It concluded by saying, “we remind the Minister that the current minimum wage levels are roughly 40% below what studies identify as necessary for a decent standard of living for a typical household. This has not been addressed in this Budget.”

Photo: DOI/Daniel Scicluna

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