Labour deputy leader Charles Mangion has reiterated claims that the Nationalist government’s responsibility in amassing €3.5 billion in debt has led to a curtailment of social services.
Yesterday evening, the Nationalist Party said in a press statement that Mangion stated in a speech he gave on 20 January that the interest being paid on national paid will result in less healthcare services, care for the elderly, housing aid, and improvements in infrastructure.
Mangion yesterday said that the €200 million in interest being paid on debt every year, Lawrence Gonzi’s government had increased the tax burden of the Maltese to the highest in the EU, as well a reducing services in polyclinics and nurses from hospitals, scarce medicine, long waiting lists, and an energy surcharge.
The PN has accused Mangion of “revealing what a vision-less policy from Labour will bring if elected to power… it’s an attack on those who are most in need and on our environment.”
Mangion however said that a new Labour government would not reduce social services, but reduce the energy surcharge by 50%, help young couples buy their first home with a €17,000 aid package, remove income tax from overtime, reduce waiting lists in hospitals by 15%, ensure that medicines will be in stock, and introduce other measures to help families.
In its statement, the PN added that Charles Mangion was a minister in the 1996-1998 Labour government during which national debt increased to €699,000,000.