An early budget – one of the earliest ever – is being planned for the 8 October, government sources told MaltaToday, but a series of consultative meetings will need to be held before confirmation of the date.
The early budget is meant to initiate the Opposition into believing that a November election is imminent. The Nationalist machine, captained by secretary-general Joe Saliba, is hoping an early run for the election battlefields may leave Labour gasping for breath.
Labour has been primed for the electoral race for the past year now, enjoying constant highs as they capitalised on political scandals and corruption in departments and ministries, bungling bureaucrats, and the usual missives over governance and economic stewardship.
With an election just round the corner, there is no doubt the forthcoming budget is all about pleasing people’s pockets. With this trump card in hand, an early budget can send Labour onto a premature offensive, sensing an election is in the offing.
While Gonzi plays for time, a positive budget may neutralise Labour’s electioneering arsenal. By the time Gonzi calls the election, the post-budget effect, the Christmas festivities, the celebrations for the accession to the Eurozone and the final migration into Mater Dei hospital would have been massaged into the people’s psyche.
Labour’s false start will then have to contend with the Nationalists’ reversal of fortunes, who would call an election in rosier times.

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Timing of the budget