It’s official: Robert Abela has saddled our country with more than €12 billion in debt

It is now official: Malta’s national debt has exceeded €12 billion.

This figure emerges from a statement on government finances published today by the National Statistics Office (NSO). This means that every Maltese and Gozitan citizen is carrying almost €30,000 in debt, and it also means that in just one year the national debt increased by almost €1 billion (€864 million).

Figures from the government’s statistics office also reveal that by August 2026, the Government had already accumulated a deficit of €376.2 million, compared with €203.4 million during the same period a year earlier – an enormous increase of more than 85%.

According to the same NSO statistics, the Government managed to increase both the deficit and the country’s debt despite collecting €724 million more in taxes between January and August 2026 than during the same period the previous year – further confirmation of how recklessly the Government squandered taxpayers’ money during election year.

The NSO reveals that, of the increase in government expenditure, only a small proportion (€183 million) went towards capital investment in the country, while recurrent expenditure increased by €687.2 million. As a result of this ever-growing debt, the Maltese people are also paying increasingly more in interest that produces no return, with €218.6 million spent for this purpose by August of this year.

According to the Government’s own projections in the 2026 Budget, the Maltese people are expected to pay between €340 million and €350 million in interest on public debt this year – equivalent to roughly €1 million every day in interest alone.

These are not merely abstract figures – they are the result of a Government that has shown little regard for taxpayers’ money, with agencies and departments often operating without sufficient oversight or transparency over how public funds are spent, as has repeatedly been highlighted in reports by the Auditor General. Particularly striking are also the costs borne by the Government as a result of the Labour Party’s scandalous appropriation of property for political purposes – yet another burden on taxpayers. These examples make it clear that the problem is not a lack of revenue, but a lack of responsible governance.

The Partit Nazzjonalista expresses the hope that, now that it has become clear that the country’s financial situation is not as the Government portrayed it before the election, the Government will act responsibly and seriously to address the situation by cutting waste and reckless spending, rather than turning to crucial sectors of the economy in search of additional funds.

The Labour Party was elected to Government after committing itself to delivering a number of promises to the people. If it is now going back on its word, it should explain why.

Above all, Robert Abela, the Prime Minister of record debt, must say what the true state of the country’s finances is: whether it is the picture he is portraying, of a country awash with wealth, or the one being presented by Clyde Caruana, who has already warned about energy subsidies and now appears to be ordering Ministries to cut spending wherever they can.

Maltese families deserve the truth.

Adrian Delia
Shadow Minister for Finance

Darren Carabott
Shadow Minister for the Economy, Technology and Strategic Projects

25.09.2026