The Opposition leader accused the Prime Minister of inconsistency last night before the government’s amendment to the Opposition motion calling for lower fuel prices was approved by 33 votes for and 30 against.

The amendment praised the government for reducing energy tariffs and stabilising fuel prices.

The PN motion was likewise defeated.

In the motion, deputy leader Mario de Marco and energy shadow minister Marthese Portelli noted that between June and December, the price of oil had gone down 55 per cent, from $100 per barrel to $44.

However, the Maltese public had not benefitted from the drop, with Malta having the highest fuel prices across the EU if one excluded tax. Tax included, it was still among the highest.

Winding up the debate, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said the way the government had kept fuel prices high showed how inconsistent Joseph Muscat was.

If the government was so intelligent, why were fuel prices in Malta considerably higher than abroad?

Four years ago, he recalled, Dr Muscat had led street protests over fuel prices even though they were actually lower than they were now, when oil was twice as expensive.

Dr Busuttil said government speakers were repeatedly accusing the Opposition of not knowing the workings of fuel procurement. But if the government was so intelligent, why were fuel prices in Malta considerably higher than abroad?

The Prime Minister’s attitude was markedly different to four years ago.

He had argued then that the high prices were undermining competitiveness and dampening consumption. What about today?

Dr Muscat had fallen into the trap of his own words, held hostage by his own promises made for votes.

Earlier, Dr Muscat accused the Opposition of clearly having no policy, ideas or vision for the energy sector.

If the government had adopted the Opposition’s policy of avoiding hedging and allowing things to take their course, the price would have increased by 23 per cent.

However, over the span of a year, the Maltese paid less than the European average.

It was ironic, he said, that the debate was taking place just as people were learning more about the obscene manner in which oil was purchased under the previous administration, in “one of the worst corruption scandals the country had seen”.

Dr Muscat recalled that in June 2008, the international price had started to drop but people were paying higher prices for fuel and even utility bills were on the rise.

The PN government had allowed the market to lead, and businesses and the public were not taken into consideration. This was not how Labour worked; it preferred to offer people stability.

Despite the Opposition’s complaints, there had already been a year of lower utility tariffs, something businesses would also benefit from as from next month.

This had injected €80 million into the economy.

Dr Busuttil’s mentality was simply to fight the government on every point, but the government was not interested.

It wanted to fight the cost of living and unemployment, to help the people to have a better quality of life.

He forecast there would come a time when fuel prices in Malta would be among the lowest in Europe. Government policy was working, while the Opposition policy had failed.

Also contributing to the debate were PN MPs Marthese Portelli and Ryan Callus, ministers Edward Scicluna and Konrad Mizzi and PL MPs Charles Mangion, Anthony Agius Decelis, Marlene Farrugia and Keith Schembri.

More detail can be read at www.timesofmalta.com.