Though the Labour government had in its first two years lowered taxes and introduced a host of social measures, it still managed to reverse the trend and reduce the country’s debt, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

A buoyant Joseph Muscat was addressing a sizeable crowd at a political rally in Qormi, as part of Labour’s campaign for the next week’s local council elections taking place in half the country’s localities.

Citing official data published last week, Dr Muscat noted that for the fifth consecutive month, a surplus had been registered in the government’s account.

He said the International Monetary Fund was forecasting that in three years’ time Labour would manage to wipe out the increase in debt accumulated by the last PN government.

“Rather than increasing debt by €100 million a month as the PN did, we are lowering it by €45 million every month in spite of reducing utility tariffs and providing free childcare for all,” he said.

Dr Muscat added that more cuts were on the way, as utility tariffs for businesses would be reduced by 25 per cent as from the end of this month. He said this would translate into an injection of €50 million for the economy.

Economic figures gave room for further optimism, he said, with inflation and unemployment at their lowest ever levels and job creation rates one of the highest in the EU.

In his address, the Labour leader also spoke about major investments announced recently including a €100 million private hospital at Smart City and the radical shake-up in public health care with the creation of health hubs at the former St Luke’s Hospital and in Gozo.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party lashed out at the Prime Minister, saying that he was only interested in the economy of those in his inner circle.

While the people received a meagre 58c weekly increase, people like Cyrus Engerer were on an annual salary of €85,000 whereas Konrad Mizzi’s wife was earning €13,000 per month, the PN said.