The people were fed up of red and blue rivalries and although political debates were normal in a democracy, arguments on events which happened 50, 40 and 35 years ago did not make sense, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.

Speaking during the annual general meeting of the party’s Qormi centre, he said national festivities came from the same source and would have never taken place if not together. So this was the time to unite more than ever before.

As he encouraged the people to unite and celebrate Independence Day, Dr Muscat said Independence, Republic and Freedom belonged to all the people.

“Tomorrow we have to show that this people has matured and grown, and one grows by making a step forward. If we are successful, as I am sure we will be, we would be gifting the next generation because we would have made a step previous generations wished for but did not manage to achieve,” Dr Muscat said.

The Prime Minister said that when one was administering a country one had to take tough decisions in the interest of the people without the luxury of complete and full information.

He said that one such decision was taken yesterday when there was information that a ship close to Malta could have a person infected with the Ebola virus.

“We are ready to assist and give humanity what we can but we cannot give from what we do not have and we cannot endanger the lives of a whole people to help the few,” he said, adding that his decision not to allow the ship to enter harbour was supported by the Opposition and this meant that common sense had prevailed.

Dr Muscat also spoke about employment saying that while just over a year and a half ago there were those who said that Malta would have to seek a bail-out, the opposite was being experienced.

Tariffs had gone down, the price of fuel was stable and there was stability in the country.

All this, the Prime Minister said, meant more employment and although there were people who were still unemployed, the government’s aim was to ensure that all the people who wanted to work found a job.

While the government would help those who were registering for employment and wanted to work, it would not help those who did not want to, he said.