Saturday’s European Parliament election will be a “contest between leaders”, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted yesterday, adding he was relishing the challenge of presenting himself “for the people’s judgement”.

Addressing a political activity in Żurrieq, Dr Muscat reiterated his message on Sunday that this election should not be seen only as a way to choose Malta’s six MEPs, but also as an opportunity to pass a vote of confidence in the government.

He said that the election was all about confirming the direction that the country had taken in March last year when the people overwhelmingly voted for change.

The Labour government was setting the benchmark, he went on. After many years Malta had a government that was delivering on its promises.

The Prime Minister accused Dr Busuttil of sitting on the fence on issues such as civil unions and spring hunting.

He also referred to a number of social measures in the pipeline. A plan to address precarious employment would soon be unveiled and his commitment to eradicate poverty was real, he said.

The government was also in the process of “doing justice for the former dockyard employees” who had been transferred to a state company called Industrial Projects Services Ltd. These workers had not received a pay rise for the past 10 years.

Another measure would be to support those who had not paid enough social security contributions, to be able to have a decent retirement pension.