Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today that the extent to which the prime minister had promised everything to everyone before the last election was shown in the past few days when it was revealed that he had also promised Gozitan herder Gianni Attard that his problem over the planned slaughter of hundreds of unregistered goats would be tackled under the Labour government.

Mr Attard last week said he would go before the Constitutional court after lower courts repeatedly decided that the herd of 300 goats had to be slaughtered because it was un-registered.

Mr Attard phoned Radio 101 to recount his experience last week. The phone call was played at a PN political activity in Attard this morning.

In his call Mr Attard says: "Why did you do this to me? You promised me so much and now nothing?"

What the prime minister had done to this man was what he did to thousands of others, with promises not been kept because they couldn't be, Dr Busuttil said. 

What the country was witnessing was deception on a national scale.

But another election would soon be held, and the people knew who they could trust.

Dr Muscat had promised  a new style of doing politics, but then met Gaffarena and gave him a permit for a petrol station that was previously refused.

Gaffarena was also given €3.5 million for half a property in Valletta.

Dr Muscat was delivering the opposite of what he promised. Gaffarena was not only a corruption scandal but also a scandal of deception.

Did the Prime Minister know about the deal with Mr Gaffarena? Why were the police not investigating?  There were aspects of the Auditor-General report on the Gaffarena case that merited a police investigation.  

Did Gaffarena not pay anyone any kickbacks? Was it possible that Gaffarena paid nothing for this deal?  

Magisterial appointments

Turning to the controversy over the appointment of Magistrates, Dr Busuttil said that in one case, that of Ingrid Zammit Young, the Constitution was very clear and this lawyer was ineligible for appointment. In making the nomination, therefore, the Justice Minister was ready to appoint someone in breach of the Constitution.

As for Caroline Farrugia Frendo, she did not practice as a lawyer for seven years, and therefore her nomination was in breach of the Constitution as well. What meritocracy had the government followed in these appointments? These lawyers were not appointed because of their qualities but because of who they are.

What kind of justice could the people expect when they appeared  before people who were appointed to the bench because of their political connections?

Referring to the Opposition bill, he said the PN merged the recommendations by the Bonello Commission and the Chamber of Advocates, picked the best ideas from both.

“I am informed that discussions between the Justice Minister and shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi have started and we are willing to reach consensus but the government has not yet agreed to start the Parliamentary debate. We insist that a debate on this bill begins immediately. If the government is not ready to discuss it in Parliament, we will use our time in Parliament this Thursday to start the debate,” he said.

He said the PN would not insist on starting the debate on Thursday if the government froze appointments to the judiciary until a new system was in place.

He criticised the justice minister for not seeking the advice of the Commission for the Administration of Justice. 

“He either does not know what the constitution says, or he knows and just wants to go ahead despite doubts on their eligibility”.

The commission, he said, would meet tomorrow at 2pm, chaired by President Marie-Louise Colerio Preca. He expected her to raise these fresh doubts. He hoped she will not go ahead with the swearing in.

A photo released by Dr Busuttil this morning of people queuing for a bus at the Valletta terminus. He said: "We are paying a phenomenal €430m for a shoddy service"

THE BUS SERVICE

On the bus service, Dr Busuttil said that despite the increased subsidy, the service  is worse than the previous one which admittedly was not perfect.

He also hit out at high fuel prices, saying that diesel was even cheaper in Brussels compared to Malta. 

He also criticised the government for billing parents whenever their children missed going to childcare, this when the service was supposed to be free. 

The monti hawkers, he said were also deceived by the present government, which promised everything to everyone.

The castle Joseph Muscat had built was crumbling because it was built on sand and based on empty promises. Surveys were showing that the gap between the two parties was narrowing because people are realising that they had been deceived. Even the genuine labourites are seeing this. Those who trusted Joseph Muscat are feeling that they were taken for a ride. It was the Nationalist Party which deserved their trust.