Regardless of which party is voted into government on March 9, the Maltese people would emerge as the true winners, party leaders agreed yesterday.
A Xarabank debate, which pitched party heavyweights head to head for the best part of two hours, saw Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi deride the Labour Party for being all talk and no substance, Labour leader Joseph Muscat sound the alarm on the Nationalist Party’s economic forecasts and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Michael Briguglio dismiss AD scaremongering by saying “we are not anti-politics”.
But in a battle that had little new to an electorate saturated with political news after eight weeks of campaigning, it was the leaders’ agreeability at the end of proceedings that stood out.
“I want Malta to win. Everyone should vote according to their wishes but we are all Maltese at the end of the day,” Dr Muscat said when asked who would win the election.
Dr Gonzi was even more explicit. “History teaches us that it is always the Maltese people who are the winners. We argue over politics and we each have our own colours – let’s not hide it – but it ends at that.”
On his part, Dr Briguglio felt that March 9 was an opportunity for the electorate to “make history” and elect a third party to Parliament – something alien to Maltese legislatures for several decades.
Throughout the debate, Dr Gonzi questioned the PL’s entire electoral programme, saying that there was little of substance other than “talk of road maps”.
The PL leader, meanwhile, pushed home his argument that the PN boasting about a sound economy was built on weak foundations.
Dr Muscat argued that the PN’s economic forecasts had been discredited by the Central Bank’s own figures and noted that unemployment had now crept up for 11 straight months. “The PN’s estimates will ram us into a wall,” he said.
The criticism was countered by Dr Gonzi citing booms in the aviation, ICT and financial services sectors. He pushed Dr Muscat to explain why he had previously suggested Cyprus as a economic role-model. Dr Muscat replied, citing the crippling effect the Greek collapse had on it.
Dr Briguglio laid out his vision of an AD with a seat in Parliament. If AD found itself in opposition, it would act as any other opposition party, sitting on committees, tabling motions and proposing legislation “such as raising the minimum wage”, he said.
If the party found itself in a position to form a coalition, it would do “what happens in any other European country” and band with the party it reached the best agreement with.
“We are not Franco Debono. We are not Beppe Grillo, who is anti-politics. We discuss things and see where there is agreement,” Dr Briguglio said.
The PL and PN leaders also argued over energy plans, with Dr Gonzi saying auditing firm KPMG had discredited Labour’s proposals “and I trust them more than you”.
Dr Muscat claimed that the PN would “raise daytime electricity rates” if re-elected.