Labour's "progressive movement" will be taking to the streets at the end of the month to protest against the way the country is being run and show the people's disapproval of the government.

After harshly criticising the government for an hour, Labour leader Joseph Muscat lived up to a promise he made in previous weeks and called "the people" to attend a mass demonstration on October 25 in Żabbar.

"The country immediately needs a Prime Minister who is interested in the concerns of the people rather than internal fights within his own party," Dr Muscat said, referring to ongoing disputes within the Nationalist Party's parliamentary group.

Addressing supporters in Fgura, Dr Muscat complained about practically everything, from the mismanagement of Enemalta and the shipyards to the shortcomings in the health and education sectors.

He said that about four in 10 children were choosing not to further their education when EU obligations required this figure to be reduced to one in 10. Dr Muscat feared that such children would find it difficult to get a job and would end up being vulnerable to abuse by employers.

He produced an advert by the Ministry of Infrastructure, which, he said, appeared in several newspapers aimed at convincing the people that the government's chosen tender for the Delimara power station extension was the right one. Dr Muscat asked why the taxpayers had to pay for such an advert when it simply confirmed what the Labour Party had been saying rather than denying it.

Among other things, the advert proved that the country's pollution limitation laws had been relaxed to accommodate the Danish company that was tendering for the contract and that the new €200 million plant would need to be replaced in seven years' time.

The advert also confirmed that the company chosen to build the power station was employing the chairman of Enemalta, even though it denied a conflict of interest.

Dr Muscat said the parliamentary debate on the contract did not need to wait for the Auditor General's report because the ministry had admitted to these basic facts. The ministry responded by saying that its experts, not the minister, had chosen the Danish company because it would result in the cheapest electricity rates.

Dr Muscat urged Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to stop procrastinating and reappoint Joe Borg as EU Commissioner, calling him the "natural choice".

"I suspect that Dr Gonzi is not looking for the best person but for someone he can kick out of his Cabinet. His priority is his party not the good of the country," he said.

He complained that unemployment had increased while imports and exports had fallen dramatically. Prices were still rising even though the country was in a recession, he said, urging the government to set up the Consumer Agency immediately.

He warned the government that the PL would never back the privatisation of Air Malta because this was the country's greatest asset that needed to be protected. The Finance Ministry later denied that there were any plans to privatise Air Malta, as it denied reports that it was planning to introduce parking meters in two localities - Sliema and Ħamrun.

Dr Muscat pointed out that, on Saturday, many PN councillors had voted for Labour councillors to represent them in the association of local councils, giving Labour a big majority and proving that his progressive movement was getting results.

"Times are changing. This is a reflection of everyone's discontentment with the government," Dr Muscat said.

He compared the prevailing political situation to that of the 1970s when the PL's forefathers had a vision for a free, independent and sovereign country. "That vision worked but now it is time for a new vision, that of a truly European Malta where rights do not remain on paper," he said.

The Nationalist Party criticised Dr Muscat's "superficial" speech for lacking ideas, saying the government was investing heavily in education, health and job creation.

The PN also asked Dr Muscat to explain how he came to the conclusion that Nationalist councillors voted for Labour's contenders in the local council association elections, adding that this was a lie just like most of the other things he had spoken about during his speech.