The best is yet to come for the country, but there is still hard work ahead, the prime minister said this morning, mentioning Air Malta and the environment.

In comments to One Radio, Dr Muscat reiterated the government’s commitment to ensure that economic growth was translated into an improved standard of living for all.

He said that positive assessments such as those by ratings agency Fitch on Friday were welcome, but what was more important was that they were reflected by the fact that many Maltese families were better off.

This government, he said, had inherited an economic outlook seen by the ratings agencies as 'negative'. That was turned to 'stable' and now to ‘positive.’

Factors which brought this about included the reduced electricity bills, which would be followed ‘in a few months’ by the power station’s use of gas. Other factors included lower income tax, free childcare and fast growth in the tourism sector. 

Dr Muscat said more needed to be done to improve the environment, and he therefore welcomed the PA call for the derelict Jerma and Mistra Village to be demolished and for illegal scrapyards to be removed.

Dr Muscat said progress had been made in Air Malta talks with pilots, and talks with the cabin crews were continuing. The former government had left the airline ‘in a mess’ and much remained to be done to sort it, he said. He did not give details, but said he was confident that the right decisions would be taken by the team headed by Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis.

The prime minister said Malta now had the lowest unemployment, lowest youth unemployment and fastest growing economy, making it the best in Europe, and he was confident that the best was yet to come. 

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