The country's financial situation is deteriorating as could be confirmed by official statistics, the Labour Party's spokesman for finance Charles Mangion said.

He said in a statement that the deficit in the first six months reached 337 million euros, 80 million euros more than in the first six months of 2008 and double was it was in the first six months of 2007, when Malta qualified to join the euro zone.

This confirmed that the Nationalist government had played around with figures in previous years to present an unrealistic picture of the country's financial situation.

The gravity of the deficit was being reflect in the fact that debt up to June increased by 351 million euros. In July, the government issued stocks for 100 million euros and for another 100 million euros in August.

The same figures confirmed that Maltese families were shouldering a big burden because of the government's irresponsible measures, including an injustified increase in the water and electricity tariffs.

A drop in purchasing power could be seen from the fact that the government received less from VAT although the cost of living increased at the highest rate among EU countries.

Capital expenditure in the first six months of this year was at the same level as in the same period last year in spite of a government promise in the last budget that this had to be increase to stimulate the economy.

The government was also not utilising EU funds to which the country was entitled, he said.

Dr Mangion said that although the government received more national insurance in the first six months of this year, it received 10 million euros less than the same month last year in June.

And although the PN understood that the current priority was to expand the economy and create employment, the way the deficit was growing was still preoccupying.

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090807/local/opposition-isolated-from-global-reality