The Nationalist Party will be giving Joseph Muscat the biggest challenge he could have ever imagined in the next general election, Simon Busuttil told supporters yesterday.
Sounding upbeat after local elections saw the PN halving the gap with Labour despite losing, Dr Busuttil said the tide had shifted and people could now believe a PN victory was possible.
“Before [the local elections] people believed the PN had no chance [to win the next general election] but today many believe what I always believed, that the PN could win the next election,” the PN leader told supporters in St Paul’s Bay.
However, he cautioned that believing in victory was the first step and the road ahead was still difficult.
St Paul’s Bay, a locality that shifted allegiance and elected a PN council, was a prize catch for the party after it overturned a 500 vote deficit three years ago to a surplus of 60 votes.
Dr Busuttil said local elections showed the PN had bridged half the gap with Labour. “Still more has to be done but with determination, courage and energy we can make it.”
But the PN leader ventured into traditional Labour territory as he pitched the party as the defender of the emarginated and people in precarious jobs.
The foray included a pitch for people who lived on social services and families who were feeling a squeeze on their wages as a result of the minimal cost of living increase.
Dr Busuttil said the PN’s secret during the local elections campaign was to be close to the people.
He insisted the PN had to show that it understood the anguish of families who were not benefiting from the wealth being generated. “We have to share the pain of workers who are losing their jobs. We have to show government for what it is when it does nothing to help companies that have lost business in Libya.”
Dr Busuttil accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of promising an end to precarious jobs when in Opposition but doing nothing to fulfil the pledge when in government. The situation of precarious jobs had worsened, he added.
“The number of care workers, security guards and cleaners in precarious jobs has increased [over the past two years].”
Dr Busuttil accused the government of being “fixated” on awarding favours to those close to it but forgetting “the vast majority”.
“As an Opposition we have ideas and we will not keep them hidden in our pockets because we want to make a difference today,” Dr Busuttil said.
Turning to the councillors elected on a PN ticket, Dr Busuttil said he expected them to be united and deliver on their promises.
“I expect to see PN-led councils deliver results and become the best models of how things should run. But more importantly you have to remain close to the people,” he said.
Referring to what he described as insults directed towards him by the Prime Minister, Dr Busuttil insisted this was not the political style people expected.
“Insults do not scare me, on the contrary they strengthen my resolve.”