With unemployment continuing to hit record lows, the government's next step will be to increase the number of high-quality jobs in the country, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning.
Speaking on ONE radio, Dr Muscat said he would be meeting with a group of British investors tomorrow to pitch Malta as a post-Brexit hub for their business.
The aim, Dr Muscat said, was to get high-value firms to register in Malta, set up shop in Malta and hire Maltese workers.
Asked about a survey in today's It-Torca which indicated Labour has widened its lead over the Nationalist Party to 75,000 votes, the Prime Minister said this placed an added responsibility on the government.
READ: Chris Said wants every Caruana Galizia allegation investigated
"We must show our appreciation by providing more work opportunities and attracting more investment," he said.
Dr Muscat also referenced a survey in today's Sunday Times of Malta, which among other things found that trust in institutions, especially the Armed Forces, government and police, remained high, at around the 70 per cent mark.
Given the "enormous" attack underway on Malta's institutions, the Prime Minister said, the survey results made for interesting reading.
"People know who is genuine and who isn't telling the truth," he said. "They can tell truth from spin."
Opposition must get its act together - Muscat
The Prime Minister had another broadside in store for Dr Delia, saying that PN MP Chris Said's motion calling for a comprehensive investigation into any public officer Daphne Caruana Galizia had written about was in effect a veiled way of pushing for an investigation into Dr Delia himself.
"The only investigation that isn't underway is that into Adrian Delia," he said.
The Opposition, he said, had also dropped the ball on other matters and should hurry up and nominate another person to sit on the anti-corruption commission.
Earlier this week, the Times of Malta revealed that the commission has been in limbo for the past six months, with two seats yet to be filled.
PN MP and former minister Jason Azzopardi also came in for criticism by the Prime Minister, with Dr Muscat reminding listeners of a mid-week parliamentary committee session in which a former director-general for the Lands Department testified about a Spinola land deal which happened under Dr Azzopardi's watch.
Calling the issue a "grave" one, Dr Muscat said that if Dr Azzopardi was not willing to assume responsibility for his actions, Dr Delia should step in as Opposition leader and punish him.
Photo: Joseph Muscat/Facebook