The Labour Party said today that the immigration issue showed that that this was a case of management by crisis and the government was continue to show itself to lack backbone.

The party was reacting to yesterday's government statement, where it said that migrants in distress who abandoned their boats would be taken to the nearest port, but others may be assisted to continue on their journey.

The PL said this was nothing more than a spur of the moment reaction by the Gonzi government which was managing by crisis after having fallen into the trap laid by the Italians. The government had had to assume responsibility for 66 migrants which should have been taken in by Italy.

The Prime Minister had lost control of the situation and the decisions it was taking now were too little, too late. Labour leader Joseph Muscat had urged the government not to sign the Immigration Pact because it did not feature mandatory burden-sharing. Now Dr Muscat was being proved right, the PL said.

The PN and its colleagues in the PPE had not voted in favour of the EU Immigration Agency but now they agreed with it.

The PL also pointed out that the government had claimed that the issue of responsibility for the migrants had been solved in a phone call between Dr Gonzi and Sig Berlusconi in the wake of the Pinar E incident, only for it to have resurfaced once more.

The government, the PL said, should admit it had no plan to tackle immigration, in contrast to the PL which had published a plan with 20 points.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090505/local/migrants-at-sea-will-get-help-to-reach-italy

and

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090505/local/an-says-its-migrants-policy-has-been-vindicated