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Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this evening urged outgoing Labour MP Godfrey Farrugia to join the party’s coalition partner and contest next month’s general election with the Democratic Party.
Dr Busuttil made this appeal during a political activity in Xagħra in which he focused on the party’s proposals for the sister island.
However, the PN leader dedicated some time of his speech to Dr Farrugia’s decision not to contest the next election on the Labour ticket – a decision which he communicated this afternoon on his Facebook account.
Read: Godfrey Farrugia will not run for Labour
Dr Busuttil noted this was no ordinary statement in the wake of Dr Farrugia’s remark that “it would not suit him” to contest with “that party calling itself Labour” even though he was a Labourite.
“You can do the next step. I will not ask you to contest on the PN ticket. I am suggesting you contest with the Democratic Party,” Dr Busuttil said this evening.
Touching on the party’s proposals for Gozo, the Opposition leader said that the PN would be unveiling a separate manifesto for Gozo on the strength of the feedback received during the last general convention held earlier this year on the sister island.
The major proposal is for the setting up of a Regional Committee and for the Constitution to be amended to give the island regional status, which in turn would make it possible to tap up to €250 million in EU funds. This committee would keep the Gozo Minister under constant scrutiny.
The second proposal is a financial incentive to reverse the trend which has seen young Gozitan couples settling in Malta. He said that those who either return to Gozo or decide to remain there in the first place would get a financial incentive of €10,000.
He also reiterated that the Gozo General Hospital would return to the Gozitans by reversing the privatisation process through which Vitals Global Healthcare took control of this facility for a 30-year period.
On the issue of accessibility between Malta and Gozo, he said the Labour government had wasted four years despite a preliminary feasibility study carried out by the PN government.
“If we get the thumbs up from the geological study as expected, we will forge ahead and works would start immediately,” he said.
He noted that this was a national project which would give a new dimension to the national territory.
In the short-term, work on a fast ferry service and the re-establishment of the cargo service would start on the first day of a PN government, he added.
Dr Busuttil warned that Joseph Muscat would resort to all sort of pledges to remain in power, except honesty and integrity.
“As a starting point, I expect the standard of living in Gozo to be on par with that in Malta, but during these four years the reverse happened.
“Our commitment is to offer proposals to close this gap,” he said.