Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday accused the Prime Minister of running the government “reactively” in light of Lawrence Gonzi’s two recent press statements about hate crime legislation and internet rights.
Gonzi is confusing transparency with bureaucracy
“I am certain that these press statements were not made out of conviction but for convenience’s sake,” Dr Muscat told supporters in Gżira.
Making hate crime legislation harsher was long overdue and the Prime Minister did not have to wait for two incidents of homophobic violence to react, Dr Muscat said.
Instead of proposing new civil rights for internet users, Dr Gonzi should have apologised for signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) “behind everyone’s back”. He should have then changed Malta’s stance, like Slovenia had done, and halted the agreement.
Referring to MEP Simon Busuttil, Dr Muscat said Dr Gonzi’s “successor” had defended the PN’s position in favour of Acta at the European Parliament while Labour’s MEPs had been consistently against the controversial agreement.
Dr Muscat said the Prime Minister’s statement changed nothing for those who attended the anti-Acta demonstration on Saturday because the deal would still stand.He questioned Dr Gonzi’s “credentials” to introduce civil rights, having voted against the civil right of divorce in Parliament even after the referendum he had called elicited a resounding “yes”.
Dr Muscat added that to pass a law, the government required a majority in Parliament, which until now could not be guaranteed, so the Prime Minister had better begin consulting with the opposition.
Dr Muscat stressed that Labour’s MEPs would vote against Acta at the European Parliament and the opposition would also vote against its ratification if it came to a vote in Malta.
Dr Muscat began his speech by wishing a speedy recovery to the frail former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff.
He then spoke of the party’s challenges at persuading more women to contest elections. He promised to give Malta “the most feminist government of all time” once elected.
Speaking about the Leaders’ Debate held by The Times on Wednesday, Dr Muscat said he was struck by the Prime Minister’s defence of Malta’s “enormous” bureaucracy.
“He is making the basic error of confusing transparency with bureaucracy,” Dr Muscat said.
Pledging to become bureaucracy’s “greatest enemy”, he said transparency and accountability were brought about through simplification, not red tape.
Dr Muscat pointed out that Dr Gonzi was in denial about the situation in Parliament, which he first described as a challenge rather than a crisis. Votes in Parliament were being constantly postponed.
Dr Muscat insisted that the March 10 local elections would be difficult for the Labour Party. Complacency was not an option, he said, because the country had to send a “sign” about the need for change of leadership in the country.
Those who thought local council elections were futile and were always easily won by Labour, must realise this would be an important test for the party in the absence of an early election.
Dr Muscat criticised the government for appointing a hospital CEO who doubts the sustainability of free health care and a University rector who questioned the sustainability of stipends.
Reacting to Dr Muscat, the Nationalist Party demanded he flesh out Labour’s policies and say how he planned to fight bureaucracy and prioritise the self-employed.
The PN said Dr Muscat wanted people to forget the recent past when Labour turned stipends into a loan system, adding that the person Dr Muscat wanted to appoint Finance Minister, MEP Edward Scicluna, had “lashed out” at the stipend system less than four years ago.