Data showing strong economic growth in the third quarter of this year was especially welcome given what the Nationalist Party used to predict a dire situation for Malta after the general election, if Labour won, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning.

The National Statistics Office said last week that the economy grew by 7.2% between July and September.

This was the period immediately after the general election when the Nationalist Party had warned of an exodus of foreign companies if Labour won, Dr Muscat said.

Not only had foreign companies not gone, but more had come to Malta, and the economy grew, he said. 

And, he added, the investment Malta had attracted so far was just a drop of what Malta would achieve. "Those afraid of heights should better look elsewhere," he said to applause.

Dr Muscat said that he had had a phone conversation with the management of Crane security printing after its takeover by another company, and he had been assured that the investment in Malta was safe.

Indeed, the Malta project had made the company more attractive to its buyers.

Dr Muscat insisted that economic growth was being translated into wealth for the people. The government, he said, was spending more in areas such as health, education and social services.

The government was also extending civil rights and press freedom.

However, Malta needed to do more in the area of law and order. People of good will expected everyone to obey the laws on the roads and in places of entertainment, among others.

New measures were rolled out in Marsa last week and would be extended to Hamrun, Birzebbuga, Qawra, Bugibba and wherever needed. This was not an issue of Maltese or foreigners, but keeping the people safe.

Abuse, he said, could no longer be tolerated. Rules had to be obeyed by all.

Voting age coming down to 16

Dr Muscat said the government would continue to promote change. It was historic that Malta would be reducing the voting age to 16 from the next European Parliament elections, which meant giving more rights to more people.

Caruana Galizia investigations

Earlier in his address, Dr Muscat said he was proud that investigations into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia had led to arrests, as previous high-profile murders of this type had not previously been solved.

“If we look at past cases, such as those of Raymond Caruana, or Karin Grech, we still have no answers, and no one was brought to justice. I am proud that with international help we have had arrests on this case,” he said.

Dr Muscat said the police and other disciplined forces in Malta had been subjected to “unjust and political criticism” in recent weeks. Despite this, they had reacted to this criticism by giving the public tangible results.

During the last legislature the government had invested in the police, increasing its spending on the force by some 10 per cent, he said.

Concluding, Dr Muscat urged his listeners to be generous with the Labour Party in its fundraising today, saying this was an investment not just with the party, but also the country.

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