The Labour Party was ready to to anything in the national interest, just like a parent did anything for his children, Labour leader Joseph Muscat has said.

He was speaking at Mellieha Labour Party club, where he was given an enthusiastic welcome by Labour supporters during a visit accompanied by party deputy leaders Anglu Farrugia and Toni Abela.

He said that what had irked the people most in the first 100 days of the new government was the arrogant attitude it had displayed, such as when it, without consultation, opted to take Malta into Partnership for Peace and when it decided to privatise the shipyards.

Although the government was trying to make Labour lose its cool, the MLP would stick by its offer to cooperate on national issues, which included the shipyards and ST Microelectronics, even though the easiest thing for the party would have been to sit back and watch.

Should the government agree to the GWU offer to set up a task force on the shipyards, the MLP would take part in the talks without conditions, Dr Muscat said. The ball was in the government’s court.

The party wanted the country to move forward as of now, not just after the election, Dr Muscat said.

Dr Abela said that on the dockyard issue, the MLP wanted a balance between the national interest and the interest of the workers.