Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil this morning underscored the importance of the June 6 European Parliament elections for the Nationalist Party, saying the party might even be fighting to retain its second seat, let alone fighting to win a third.
The PN won two seats to Labour's three when the first EP elections were held.
Dr Busuttil, speaking at a PN general council meeting, said the coming elections would be difficult for the PN and they needed to fight hard by comparing and contrasting their record in the European Parliament with those of the Labour MEPs. The people needed to ask themselves: would it be good for the country if the PN only had two candidates elected to the European Parliament, or even lost its second seat?
The record showed what a loss that would be for Malta
Workers only needed to see who of Malta's MEPs defended their right to work overtime while the others abstained and then said they made a mistake, Dr Busuttil said.
Port workers could see who were the MEPs who voted against an EP proposal to liberalise their sector, and who went on holiday.
The people could see who voted in favour of a clause backing the transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to EU countries including Malta, and who voted against.
The people could see who worked hard for Malta to achieve the financial package it deserved from the EU, and those who wanted Malta to be denied funds for the Sant Antnin project.
One could compare and contrast speeches and actions on euro adoption.
And such comparisons could also be made on migration, where Labour said one thing in Malta and did something different, or nothing at all, in Brussels.
For example, the Labour MEPs abstained on a proposal which would have forced Malta to end its detention policy.
And while, just a few days ago, Joseph Muscat said migration was a national crisis, the Labour MEPs voted against a motion which would have kept migration as one of the EU's priorities. This, Dr Busutttil said, was shameful.
Earlier, Nationalist MEP David Casa also warned against a protest vote in the EP elections. This was what happened last time, he said. As a consequence, Malta lost the expertise of then PN candidate Joanna Drake in the European Parliament, and ended up with Glenn Bedingfield.