A buoyant Prime Minister yesterday said next month’s European elections would be a good opportunity for the electorate to give a vote of confidence to the Labour government, to bring about more change and secure a historic victory.
Addressing a rally in Vittoriosa on the opening day of the party’s electoral campaign, Joseph Muscat said Labour was aiming to become the first ever party in government to win this election.
He insisted – to a sizeable crowd in a jubilant mood – that Labour was the underdog. Labour’s slogan “Malta: positive energy” epitomised what the party stood for, he said.
The Labour movement wanted to convey the message that Malta was the land of equal opportunity. The choice was between a party of the past that was resorting to scaremongering and a Labour Party that was the agent of change.
The EU is not about stars on a blue flag but is about equal rights for our children
Labour was following in the footsteps of people like Mikiel Anton Vassalli, Manuel Dimech, Dom Mintoff and even George Borg Olivier.
“The EU is not about stars on a blue flag but is about equal rights for our children,” he said.
Seeking to build on the momentum of last week’s historic vote in Parliament introducing civil unions, Dr Muscat said the PL was delivering on its main pledge to bring about change after years of conservative rule. The government, he said, was also delivering on its promises to reduce utility tariffs and legislate to eliminate discrimination, as well as to lower income tax, provide free childcare centres for all and refund VAT on car registration.
On immigration, he said that the government had scored a number of successes, such as an agreement to repatriate Nigerian nationals whose request for refugee status had been turned down, and ensuring children were not kept in detention centres.
The government was also combating corruption through the introduction of the Whistleblower Act and removing time-barring in cases of alleged corruption.
He backed his argument by referring to the smart meter scam, saying the government had uncovered a web of corruption in Enemalta which went back several years.
Dr Muscat said he was not afraid to be judged exclusively on the merits of the government’s track record rather than on European issues. In a dig at the Opposition that last week abstained on the vote to introduce civil union and gay adoption, the Prime Minister said the PL wanted to remain positive and was bold enough to take decisions.
In his speech, Dr Muscat also sought to reach out to disgruntled voters, saying the government would ensure that it would look after each and every citizen. There was no credible alternative on the other side of the fence, he warned.