A new government would be willing to discuss shop sales rules but it depended on a common position by retailers, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

Dr Muscat said there were divergent opinions on the matter, with some retailers saying they were in favour of stringent regulations on sales and others saying it would stifle competition.

He said the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry had to come up with a common approach on the matter before the idea could go any further.

“The Government cannot implement such regulations alone. Other EU countries, like Italy, have such rules, imposing specific dates when sales can be held. However, in Malta we do not have the culture of such regulations and there are pros and cons,” he said.

Dr Muscat was replying to questions by employees of Michele Peresso Group of Companies during a visit to its store in Birkirkara.

Addressing a question on the procurement of medicines, Dr Muscat said Labour would facilitate the process in such a way that the government would have better projections of requirements, making the out-of-stock saga the exception rather than the rule.

During his tour of the large shop, Dr Muscat came across a pair of black trainers, got hold of them and said “these look like mine”, in a clear reference to criticism by Nationalist Party president, Marthese Portelli, who said he was wearing his normal shoes when The Sunday Times filmed him working out at the gym.

Replying to complaints by group chairman Emanuel Peresso on the 40 per cent increase in energy costs and increased bureaucracy his business was facing, Dr Muscat said Labour’s energy plan would cut costs by a quarter while bureaucracy was targeted to decrease by 25 per cent.