There was “no time to waste” in establishing which party held a parliamentary majority as Malta was in dire need of stability, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
With 2012 looking like a stormy year for European economies, the Opposition leader insisted that “we need to establish who has a parliamentary majority”.
Speaking at the Labour Party’s annual New Year’s reception for members of the media and constituted bodies, Dr Muscat reiterated his calls for political stability while outlining the PL’s strategy throughout the ongoing political crisis faced by the government.
“We will not bang political drums or go down the populist route,” Dr Muscat told guests as they sipped their drinks. “Instead, we will be taking a different path – one guided by the need for stability.”
There were almost as many smiles as canapés at the well-attended reception held at the PL’s Mile End headquarters in Ħamrun.
All Labour’s decisions, Dr Muscat said, would be driven by this need for stability, which he described as “the least common denominator” within the PL agenda.
He foresaw some bumpy times ahead. “We will take decisions that may be criticised and which might not be greeted with a national round of applause,” he said somewhat cryptically, subsequently adding that the PL would “take on all criticism constructively, in the nation’s best interest”.
The political crisis, precipitated by Nationalist MP Franco Debono’s insistence that he no longer has faith in Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, has dramatically increased the chances of a snap election being forced onto the Prime Minister.
And although Dr Muscat was careful not to speak at length about an eventual election, he acknowledged that the sudden crisis had upset certain electoral plans.
“There may be certain sacrifices, and our electoral timetable could need to be sped up. But we are ready to do this to guarantee national stability.”
Labour’s annual general conference, which starts this weekend and which Dr Muscat said “could not have come at a better time,” will provide the party with an opportunity to discuss their eventual electoral strategy.
As waiters weaved past clusters of people, trays heaving with glasses of assorted refreshments, guests caught up with one another and wished each other a happy start to 2012.
It is a year which, as PL President Stefan Zrinzo noted “has started with a bang”, and much of the conversation revolved around unfolding political events.
“The media has certainly been kept busy,” Dr Zrinzo said as journalists nodded their assent, “and I hope we can all work together to strengthen discussion and debate among ourselves and with the various constituted bodies.”