Far-right voters mainly uniformed men - Muscat

Most of those who voted for far-right candidates in the MEP elections were members of the uniformed forces and those in the forefront of the illegal immigration problem, Labour leader Joseph Muscat charged yesterday.

Dr Muscat said such people wanted to get the message across through the European Parliament elections that mainstream political parties were not heeding their pleas on what they experienced on a daily basis.

He was addressing a press conference with Labour's MEPs Louis Grech, John Attard Montalto and Edward Scicluna and observer MEP Joseph Cuschieri.

Dr Muscat said the Labour Party (PL) wanted to hear these people as much as it wanted to hear those who did not vote, those who voted for other parties and sympathisers who did not vote.

The party was committed to listening to the messages sent on Saturday. In fact, although the election had passed, the party was holding an open day at its headquarters in Ħamrun to listen to what the people had to say.

Commenting on the landslide victory at the EP elections, in which the PL won a 55 per cent majority, Dr Muscat said: "This was not a victory that could be achieved by any political party. It was the victory of a growing movement, which included many who never voted Labour before. The election result is a mandate for the PL to not only criticise but also offer solutions."

Dr Muscat said the satisfaction for politicians was that of improving people's quality of life. "People have sent a clear message that they are not happy and there were surely others, who voted for the Nationalist Party, who are also not happy with the way the country was being run," he said.

Asked how he interpreted the fact that the PL's votes had fallen by 6,000 over the March 2008 general election, Dr Muscat said the turnout had also been lower but he admitted there were PL supporters who had not voted.

This, Dr Muscat said, was not the finishing line but the start.

He said the news that the Maltese economy shrank by over three per cent in the first quarter was a major cause for concern because it had an effect on living standards and on jobs.

Replying to a question on whether each of Labour's candidates would be declaring their electoral campaign expenses according to law, Dr Muscat said the party expected them to abide by the law.