Real Parliament in Europe soon - Josie Muscat

The real Parliament would soon be the one in Europe and it made sense to elect representatives who were motivated by a sense of duty and patriotism, Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat said yesterday.

AN's campaign trail yesterday took the party to Rabat, where Dr Muscat insisted that on illegal immigration his party had been proved right.

He rebutted criticism that AN MEPs would be weak because they would not form part of any political grouping in the European Parliament. He defended his party's choice because AN wanted to form only those alliances that would work for Malta.

"Where was the Popular People's Party when Malta faced problems because of illegal immigration? Where was the second largest group in the EU Parliament, the Socialists? How many of these stood up to propose alternatives to the prevailing situation?" He criticised those who had labelled AN fascist when it suggested that boat people, once helped, should be sent on their way. "Would the government call Italy fascist for doing the same thing?" Dr Muscat asked.

Dr Muscat said AN was much more than a single-issue party. "It was up to the people to decide whether to free themselves from the two-party stranglehold over their brains. The people need to send to Europe those who would dare to stand up to Europe and not simply enjoy the good life there," Dr Muscat concluded.