While the Opposition was immersed in “childish behaviour”, the Government was focused on achieving results for Malta to make it a “fairer and stronger” country, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
He accused the Opposition of being negative.
The Government was holding negotiations with the European Commission on the forthcoming Budget that would “surprise” the Nationalist Party.
Dr Muscat, who was speaking at the Rabat Labour Party club, said the Government was on track to cut the deficit to below three per cent by the end of the year.
He referred to the Opposition’s walkout from Parliament last week following a “serious allegation” by leader Simon Busuttil that he (Dr Muscat) had interfered or put political pressure on Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit not to file criminal charges against former European Commissioner John Dalli.
“People could clearly see the big differences between the Government and the Opposition.
“On one side, there is a Government which, although not perfect, achieved results in six months that had never been achieved in 25 years, while, on the other side, there is an Opposition that is being negative, adopting a childish behaviour and stirring up a fuss because it did not agree with the Speaker’s ruling on [Dr Busuttil’s] accusations,” he said.
Our vision is to have a fairer and stronger country
He spoke about the decision to set the prices of essential services, such as gas and fuels, for three months saying this would give families and businesses more peace of mind.
On the agreement the Government signed with China’s Shanghai Electric, Dr Muscat reassured people that the Chinese would not control Malta’s electricity switches at home, as Dr Busuttil was saying.
When he referred to Dr Busuttil’s claim that Malta had become the worst country in Europe, Dr Muscat said no citizen could allow any politician to belittle the country to such a level.
He mentioned the report by rating agency Moody’s, which changed the outlook from negative to stable.
He said what had angered him last week was someone’s decision to write to students informing them that their stipend was being withheld. He immediately requested an investigation on who issued such a letter without political approval and ordered its retraction.
“We want to strengthen the stipend system not reduce it,” he said.
The future was also bright because companies were coming forward with ideas. A case in point was the project at the former shipbuilding site, in which more than 40 companies expressed interest.
“Be optimistic. We do not discourage people. Our vision is to have a fairer and stronger country. This is the aim of the upcoming Budget, which we are in the process of negotiating with the EU. There is a strong, stable government that has a plan, a go-getter and a government that is ready to surprise people, including the Opposition,” he said.