Prime Minister Joseph Muscat claimed the Opposition leader “wants people to judge others but not him” in Rabat last night. Photo: PL

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil’s refusal to accept that Saturday’s election was a contest between leaders exposed his shallowness, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat charged yesterday.

“First he told people to give me a yellow card and now I am on the pitch waiting for him and he doesn’t want to play.

“This exposes his shallowness when he wants people to judge others but not him,” he told supporters in Rabat.

He also questioned why Dr Busuttil was in politics if he did not want to be judged.

The basic difference between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party was that, while one understood people’s concerns, the other laughed at measures such as the reduction in utility tariffs that would leave €20, €30 or €50 more in people’s pockets.

Dr Muscat said he was proud that the measures the government had introduced were already giving families and pensioners a breather.

He recalled how he had been criticised for keeping his own car as the official car, which saved people’s taxes.

This showed how the Opposition was cut off from reality. Similarly, the Opposition was saying two people of the same sex did not have the right to have a family and have their own children.

“Even when I am told that there are 80 per cent of people against, I am proud that there are no class differences between people.”

Acknowledging that the government had committed mistakes and was prepared to admit it, his government had the will to bring about change, he said.