Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday rubbished a claim by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil that Malta would ask Europe for a bailout within a year or two of Labour being elected.
Parliament’s first priority is car park privatisation
“Malta can never need a bailout because only countries that are indebted to other countries can require a bailout,” Dr Muscat said, adding that Malta’s stability was based on the fact that its debt was internal.
Dr Busuttil made the claim earlier this month in an interview with The Sunday Times, in which he announced his general election candidature.
Speaking to party supporters in Lija, Dr Muscat did not mention Dr Busuttil by name but said a “prominent person in the Nationalist Party” made the serious declaration as part of a campaign of lies and fear.
“Maybe this person knows something we do not know. If so, it would be good for him to share it,” Dr Muscat began.
He then rebutted the statement from a “technical” point of view, saying Malta did not owe any money to foreign countries.
If anything, Malta was owed money, he added.
Moreover, credit rating agency Fitch recently asserted that Malta’s financial situation would remain stable irrespective of who won the next election. Even foreign experts were convinced of Labour’s responsibility, he said.
“You know how Lawrence Gonzi loves to talk about certificates... This is Labour’s first certificate for Malta.”
Like Dr Busuttil’s statement, Dr Muscat said, the PN’s campaign claiming that Labour would freeze the minimum wage was not being believed by anyone.
He lashed out at Dr Gonzi’s handling of public finances, saying the Prime Minister had racked up more debt than all previous governments put together.
Unlike politicians whose target was the next election, a Labour government would instead keep in mind the next generation, he said, urging supporters to understand the importance of lowering debt.
Dr Muscat also spoke about the Government’s intention to privatise car parks and said the plans as outlined in the tender would create an unregulated monopoly that worsened the parking problem.
Privatisation made sense, he said, but only if it was well-regulated with the consumers’ interests at heart. The tender, as proposed by the Government, did not stipulate the fees that parkers could charge.
This was “gross irresponsibility”, he said, pointing out that the company that won the tender would effectively run all car parks, creating an unchecked monopoly that would also have an impact on businesses.
In light of the tendering process, Dr Muscat said he expected the House Business Committee to prioritise Labour’s motion to withdraw the car park privatisation project.
He ended his speech by calling on supporters – especially the militant veterans – to open their doors to non-Labourites seeking change.
Acknowledging that this was a “difficult message”, he said the Labour movement was now the natural home of all the Maltese and Gozitans, not just Labourites.
He said there were many “genuine Nationalists” who wanted to defect to Labour but were afraid they would not be accepted or believed. Urging supporters not to push away these people, he said: “They might be asking: who will believe us and look out for us? And I tell them: Joseph Muscat will.”
Reacting to Dr Muscat’s speech, the PN said the Fitch analysis also warned that things could not be taken for granted and if a post-election fiscal policy failed to deliver, it could have negative rating implications.