Joseph Muscat tried turning the tables on the Nationalist Party yesterday, challenging his rival to publish the party’s accounts since he became leader.
There is no hidden agenda- Muscat
Dr Muscat called on the PN to open its books up to scrutiny since Lawrence Gonzi took over in 2004.
In a tit-for-tat, after visiting the National Screening Centre, Dr Gonzi said the PN will publish its campaign finances and accounts but did not say when.
The Prime Minister insisted that the focus should remain on serious allegations made by ex-deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia that Labour was close to big business.
“Joseph Muscat is duty-bound to give clear answers to the accusations made by his deputy,” he said.
In his first forceful rebuttal of Dr Farrugia’s allegations, Dr Muscat said the claims were “outlandish”.
“There is no hidden agenda,” Dr Muscat said when asked if the PL was bending over backwards to accommodate industrialists.
“The Prime Minister has zero credibility on the issue, because it’s his fault we’re the only European country, alongside Albania, to not have a party financing law.”
He said the PL published its accounts every year and asked whether Dr Gonzi was willing to do the same for PN accounts.
Dr Muscat did not deny meeting industrialists at PL headquarters, saying he met with everyone, “from employers to workers to NGOs,” although he categorically denied his party’s energy proposals had been fuelled by business interests.
“Dr Gonzi might want to know that my office is on the third floor, not the fourth,” he joked, referring to the Prime Minister’s insinuations that dark deals were being struck on the fourth floor of the PL Mile End headquarters.
The issue also arose during a press conference by PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil, who said the party will publish the accounts of how it collected and spent funds in its electoral campaign.
The party did not have authorisation to publish donor names.“We have to be fair,” he said, regardless of whether they gave €10 or €100.
The PL was “morally bankrupt” in view of Dr Farrugia’s comments.
Additional reporting by Kurt Sansone.