Stepping down for Muscat is tough - Cuschieri

Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri yesterday said he had taken the "tough" decision to step down from Parliament to make way for leader Joseph Muscat because of his "love and loyalty" towards the party.

"Let us forget our ambitions and personal glorifications and work together... Our country needs a Labour Party in government," Mr Cuschieri said during his official announcement last night.

Since Dr Muscat announced that he will be stepping down as MEP to take his position as Opposition leader in Parliament, there was much speculation over who would step down - though Mr Cuschieri was long considered the most likely.

The House Business Committee on Thursday announced that Dr Muscat will be co-opted to Parliament on October 1, and that a Labour MP elected in a casual election will announce his resignation to vacate his seat.

Mr Cuschieri wrote to Dr Muscat to announce he will be resigning on September 29, when the House meets again after summer recess.

Saying he believed in his leader's vision, Mr Cuschieri stressed that this move did not mean he would be retiring from the political scene. On the contrary, he assured constituents he would be working in their interests.

"This is simply a necessary pause in the party's and country's interests," he said.

Dr Muscat replied with another letter yesterday accepting this "extraordinary and generous decision", and marked this gesture by last night jointly addressing a party celebration at the Montekristo Wine Vaults, Luqa.

"(Mr Cuschieri's) decision is a sign of absolute loyalty towards our ideal. It shows the ideal is bigger than the person," he said, taking the opportunity of Independence Day celebrations to criticise Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi for a "double-faced leadership".

He highlighted how Dr Gonzi said one thing before the election, but did another once he was voted into power, referring to the shipyards, and the explosion in the cost of living, among others.

He also called on the government to remain strong in its stand to refuse the deal on the new EU immigration pact if there was no clear reference to burden sharing.

"We have to be strong with the politicians and not the desperate immigrants. If Malta is not given the necessary resources and the system is not equipped to deal with this emergency, the government should not agree to the new regulations," he said.

However, on his own party he said: "We are showing progressives and moderates in Malta that we have clear ideas and are prepared to take a stand. We are capable of being the foundation on which a new movement can be built."