Malta yearns for a change in direction which the Labour Party, as a movement which listened to people, was ready to give, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this afternoon. 

Addressing a mass meeting in Zabbar, Dr Muscat referred to the corruption scandal that rocked the country in recent weeks, saying his government will prioritise the Whistleblower Act, the party financing laws and will remove the time-barring element on political corruption. 

He said these anti-corruption measures will be introduced "as soon as possible", along with the budget, so as to ensure full transparency. 

“The situation is so serious that we need to deliver a very strong message. A clear message that the Maltese people deserve much better,” Dr Muscat said.

He referred to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's statement that a €49 million deficit as a projection for 2015 was a "drop in the ocean" saying the Labour Party could do a lot with the money including solving the waiting list problem, scholarships, more stipends, more scholarships, another cancer hospital and more wings at St Vincent de Paul.

He thanked those people who worked within the party in the past and those who helped him bring down the walls around the party before it became a movement but made no mention of former deputy leader Anglu Farrugia who, in an interview in The Sunday Times today spoke for the first time of how he was fired from the Labour Party after having been backstabbed by, among others, Dr Muscat himself. 

Dr Muscat spoke about the party's proposals to increase the respect for the teaching profession and how his government would be investing heavily in teachers because these were the people entrusted with educating children. 

Referring to the Nationalist Party's promise to refund people the cost of medicines they find out of stock, Dr Muscat warned people to be wary of this promise which would see them refunded only the amount the particular medicine would have cost the government. 

The mass meeting was also addressed by Paul Bonello, managing director of Finco Trust, the firm which is representing those who lost their savings as a result of failed investments by Bank of Valletta. 

He admitted that he had never voted Labour before but appealed to people to trust the party their their vote. He said There was no space for incompetence, corruption and amateurism with Joseph Muscat, who he described as a person who had no baggage and had the vision of ensuring that Malta really became the best in Europe.