The national Budget is essentially an economic, not a political, exercise.

In Malta’s prevailing scenario, there is a twist: it is simultaneously reckoned as a confidence vote. And yet the Opposition appears to be no less keen to have the Budget passed through all its stages than the Government itself. It is heartening to see both parties considering the country’s interest before theirs.

Here is a suggestion. In return for the Opposition’s abstention on the Budget vote, the government promises to hold a special parliamentary sitting before the Christmas recess specifically for a vote of confidence in the Administration. If the vote needs the Speaker’s intervention, the Prime Minister would still advise the President to dissolve Parliament.