Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday challenged Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to say whether he or any of his advisers had any prior knowledge of an allegation of corruption in the purchase of oil.
Work is for all, social mobility is for all, accountability and the right to clean politics is for all
Referring to documents published by MaltaToday that implicated former Enemalta procurement committee member Frank Sammut (see separate story), he claimed they “helped explain” institutional resistance to switching to gas-powered energy.
“Now we know what goes on. To those who ask why we need a change in direction, I say: ‘this is why’. So that Malta will no longer be of the few and for the few,” the PL leader told an energetic crowd gathered for yesterday’s mass meeting in Rabat.
He attacked the Government for having “missed two opportunities” to switch to gas-powered energy, first in 2003 – when Italian company Eni had offered to foot the bill for a pipeline in exchange for a 25-year gas procurement contract, in a story broken by The Times – and then in 2008, when it was decided that the Delimara extension would run on heavy fuel oil rather than gas.
“This Government refused a free pipeline, but now they want us to wait another eight or 10 years for a pipeline costing hundreds of millions of euros. And meanwhile we’ll go on with heavy fuel oil, while others line their pockets with oil commissions.”
Dr Muscat’s speech was bookended by calls for an end to tribal politics, with the PL leader hammering home the unifying message the party has adopted as a core part of its electoral campaign.
“I am part of a generation that wants to start a new chapter in our history. Division begets division, and resolving one injustice with another creates a cycle of injustices,” he said, assuring political rivals they had nothing to fear from change. That note of reassurance was also struck by lawyer Robert Abela, the son of President George Abela, who in opening the mass meeting told the crowd that the Labour Party had “acknowledged and paid for its past mistakes”, and that it was committed to never repeating them.
Dr Muscat also touched upon the party’s proposal to provide free childcare services for parents in full-time employment with children aged under three. He said the proposal would be followed by others geared towards getting more women into full-time work.
All throughout, Dr Muscat steered clear of labels, pointedly never using the words “Labour”, “Nationalist” or even the name of his direct adversary, Dr Gonzi.
His speech ended on a crescendo, with Dr Muscat playing on the party’s electoral rallying cry – A Malta for all (Malta tagħna lkoll) – to drum up enthusiasm.
“Work is for all, social mobility is for all, accountability and the right to clean politics is for all, Malta is tagħna lkoll” he yelled above the din.
The crowd loved it, hooting horns, waving pristine white Partit Laburista flags, and almost drowning out their party leader’s voice in the process.