A Labour MP said both parties should agree on scaling back some measures.
Darren Carabott
Labour MP Clint Azzopardi Flores told The Malta Independent on Sunday on 27 September 2026 that any phasing out of the energy subsidies should be agreed by both sides of the House. He suggested both parties could agree to end them by the start of 2035.How we reached this verdict ↓
Analysis and evaluation
The PL MP is Clint Azzopardi Flores, a Labour backbencher elected for the first time this year. In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, published on 27 September 2026, he said any phasing out of the energy subsidies should be agreed by both sides of the House.
What he said
Azzopardi Flores said the subsidies should stay for now, to avoid economic instability. When the time comes to end them, he said, there should be "a holistic plan" with a transition period, so that people and businesses can plan ahead.
Asked whether fear of losing votes could stop any government from phasing them out, he said he hoped the PN and PL parliamentary groups could reach a bipartisan agreement on when the subsidies should be withdrawn. He gave the start of 2035 as an example of a date both parties could agree on. "Nowadays, people want to see a plan," he told the newspaper, "not populism."
Which measures
The measures he spoke about are the energy subsidies that have kept electricity and fuel prices fixed since 2022. The article puts their cost at over €1 billion since they were introduced, and at about €230 million this year. He did not propose scaling back any other measure, and said his ideas were not government policy.
He also suggested that, if the subsidies ever become unsustainable, high-income households could pay an eco-contribution while the blanket subsidy stays in place.
Editorial note
How we assessed this claim
We looked for public statements by Labour MPs on scaling back government measures, and found the interview the claim refers to.
We read the article in full and checked that the MP spoke about agreement between both parties, not only about the subsidies themselves.
True, because the MP said a phase-out of the energy subsidies should be agreed by both sides of the House.
Limitations
- The MP spoke only about the energy subsidies. The claim's "some measures" is wider than what he said, but does not change its point.
- He said his views were his own and not government policy.