PN likens Joseph Muscat to 'wind vane'

The Nationalist Party this afternoon likened Labour leader Joseph Muscat to a wind vane that changed direction.

Reacting to a press conference by Dr Muscat, where he said that the Opposition would present a parliamentary motion for the holding of a consultative referendum on divorce, the PN said this was a change of direction by Dr Muscat, who had been against the holding of a referendum.

At a time when he was already party leader, Dr Muscat had declared that after the general election, he would move a private member's motion for the introduction of divorce and allow the Labour MPs a free vote, the PN said. He had also clearly declared that he was against the holding of a referendum.

Now Dr Muscat had decided to move a motion immediately, and not after the election, for the holding of a referendum, which he had initially opposed,.

On August 3, 2008, Dr Muscat had told The Sunday Times that the holding of a referendum would constitute 'an irresponsible failure'. He repeated that position in an article he penned in The Times of August 25, 2008, when he said that the holding of a referendum would be a failure of leadership, the PN said.

Then on May 19, 2009, according to the PL's own news website, Dr Muscat said that divorce should be introduced by legislation not referendum: "divorce should be legislated in parliament and not through a referendum ".

It was clear to many people that Dr Muscat was a wind vane that changed direction on every possible subject, the PN said. The people, it added, did not know where Dr Muscat stood, even on important matters.