Black bag in hand, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna will tonight deliver the legislature’s second Budget but the first of his making.

With Prof. Scicluna keeping the cards close to his chest, expectations are running high to see what the first Labour Budget will hold.

But the political tit-for-tat on the Budget started in earnest yesterday with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil crossing swords in their Sunday speeches.

Speaking in Qormi, Dr Muscat cheekily told supporters to keep in mind those who called the party’s energy plan ‘Alice in Wonderland’ when the Finance Minister announces utility bill reductions.

In Safi, Dr Busuttil told Nationalist supporters that he was waiting to see what Kinder Sorpresa (a chocolate egg containing a toy) Budget Prof. Scicluna had in store.

The Prime Minister said it would be “a people’s Budget” that will not leave the middle class and the poor by the wayside.

He insisted that contrary to previous administrations, raising taxes was only one of other revenue generating measures such as the citizenship scheme that will not burden taxpayers.

But on the flipside Dr Busuttil said he expected the Government to fulfil its electoral pledges without increasing taxes, which was also an electoral promise.

Dr Busuttil said he expected the Budget to deliver on the electoral pledges to refund VAT on car registration, give Year Four students tablet computers, provide child care services for free and solve the out-of-stock-medicine problem.

Additional reporting: Ivan Martin.