If both leaders could turn back the clock, the Prime Minister would not have threatened to push back migrants to Libya, while the Opposition leader said his party should not have abstained on the Civil Unions Bill.
Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil both said they would do some things differently when faced with quick fire questions about their choices since the 2013 election during a debate on Times Talk yesterday.
Dr Muscat had come under fire when he had considered sending a group of Somali migrants back to Libya in July 2013. He had never expressed any regret over the move, despite it being blocked by the European Court of Human Rights. Looking back at the decision, he yesterday agreed it was a “mistake”.
Meanwhile, Dr Busuttil was coy when asked if he would keep the government’s contentious individual investor programme.
The Opposition had strongly criticised the government’s plan to sell passports, saying it disagreed on “a point of principle”. Dr Busuttil, however, yesterday said his decision on whether or not he would scrap the scheme depended on the state of the programme by the time he took office.
He also did not rule out the possibility of forming a coalition with Alternattiva Demokratika. But, when asked whether he would resign if he lost the next election, Dr Busuttil said this depended on the magnitude of the result.
In another revelation, Dr Muscat did not rule out returning former home affairs minister Manuel Mallia to Cabinet.
Turning to the recent Azerbaijan energy deal and the secrecy surrounding his December visit to Baku, Dr Muscat said he was scheduled to discuss his trip in Parliament the day he returned. He had not done so, because Dr Busuttil had asked him to postpone as he was abroad.
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- The score given out of 10 for government’s performance on the environment by Martin Scicluna
What the Opposition leader did not know, he added, was that consultants within the Nationalist Party had written to him before his trip and asked him to lobby on their behalf.
Dr Muscat said the consultants – who he did not name – represented entities close to the Azeri government and wanted him to raise certain issues during his visit.
Asked who these persons were and what they had asked for, Dr Muscat said he would pass on the details to the press but did not want to announce them on television.
Questions sent later to the Office of the Prime Minister on the matter were not answered by the time of writing.
Reacting to the revelation, Dr Busuttil said he knew nothing of this. In fact, he knew very little about his trip as did the press, who had not been invited to cover the event.
The recorded debate was punctuated with occasional barbs as the two leaders tried to get ahead of each other. The debate started 15 minutes late due to Dr Muscat’s tardiness, while at one point off camera Dr Busuttil threatened to walk out if he was not given more time to have his say.
The programme saw the government assessed by independent political commentators Martin Scicluna and Michael Briguglio, who were asked to review the government’s performance in five sectors.
Their analysis, given separately in pre-recorded clips, drew similar results. The two were scathing on the environment and Malta Tagħna Lkoll, the government’s pre-electoral pledge to be more meritocratic.
Mr Scicluna, a former President of Din l-Art Ħelwa, gave the government zero out of 10 on the environment and one out of 10 on Malta Tagħna Lkoll.
They were more generous on energy, finances and the economy where the government scored between six and eight out of 10.
Mr Scicluna said the government was pandering to developers at the cost of the environment.
Dr Briguglio followed with three out of 10 on the environment and four out of 10 on the latter subject.
Reacting to this, Dr Muscat said he did not want a government of hypocrisy where some 8,000 enforcement notices were left hanging as had been by the previous administration.
Punching back, Dr Busuttil said the government had taken the country back to “the days of [former minister] Lorry Sant” whereby developers were appeased and only Labourites were accommodated by the planning authority.
Is it a yes or no?
At the end of the debate the two leaders faced a quick fire round of questions. This is what they had to say....
Simon Busuttil
If you had to go back to the vote on the Civil Unions bill, would the PN abstain again?
No.
Will you keep the passport sale scheme?
It depends on the situation. I said in the beginning that I was completely against it.
And now you’re in favour?
No I’m not in favour of it.
That means you will remove it?
No, you cannot forecast from now how the scheme will have developed in three years’ time, I don’t think that is a fair question.
Do you exclude a coalition with Alternattiva Demokratika before the next election?
I exclude nothing.
If the Nationalist Party loses the general election, will you resign?
It depends on the result.
Joseph Muscat
Will [former home affairs minister] Manuel Mallia find his way into your Cabinet again in this legislature?
I consider all MPs who are not ministers or parliamentary secretaries, including Manuel Mallia.
At the start of the legislature you considered pushing back a group of migrants to Libya, was that a mistake?
Yes.
Will you consider a circulation tax – on the lines of the CVA system applied to Valletta – to curb congestion?
No.
If the new gas power station is not ready within the new deadline – June 2016 – will you resign?
I will resign if the water and electricity rates are not reduced, as I said before the election.
That means no?
I am saying what I said before the election.