Labour leader Joseph Muscat today urged his party to prepare for further change and to accept more newcomers in its ranks.
Speaking hours after the newspapers announced that former Housing Authority chairman Marisa Micallef was joining the party, Dr Muscat said the PL had stopped bleeding and was now welcoming those who had never formed part of it before.
He said that roles could change, but everyone has a place in the movement which the PL was building. And the party would never forget the suldati tal-azzar who had remained with it through thick and thin.
His appeal, Dr Muscat said, was for the party not to build bastions around it, but to open up for more change, which, however difficult, was necessary for the party to continue to go forward.
Dr Muscat said he was not prepared to commit the mistakes of the past, because that only produced the results of the past. The party, he said, was pacing itself and preparing carefully for the general elections, taking care not to take anything for granted and not to peak early, as may have happened in the past.
In his speech, at Naxxar PL club, Dr Muscat said there was consensus in the country that the Gonzi government was heading in the wrong direction. This was a tired, unstable and mediocre government where decisions could not be taken.
He hit out at the government over various sectors. On illegal immigration, he said it was an insult to Malta and an example of government incompetence, that only six EU countries out of 26 had accepted to take migrants from Malta, and they would be taking only 100 in all.
The government, he said, had eroded the cost of living and pushed the economy backwards with the unjustified way it raised power, water and gas prices. But price rises were across the board, as housewives could see when they went to buy vegetables.
Dr Muscat accused the chairman of Malta Tourism Authority of conflict of interest, saying his companies were receiving funds from the Authority.
Referring to the Gozo Channel controversy, he said that while he would await all sides of the story, it was shameful that the man who had made the allegations had been removed from his post, albeit at full pay.
The Labour leader reiterated his call for a parliamentary debate on how the contract for the power station extension was awarded, and how construction works would be handled by a company forming part of the group which employed the Enemalta chairman.
Dr Muscat noted that Infrastructure Minister had defended his right to interfere in the management of government entities under his responsibility. By the same yardstick, would he now shoulder his responsibilities for the Fairmount contracts at Malta Shipyards which had destroyed the dockyard and cost it €37 million? There were funds which could have been used for people with disabilities, or those awaiting medical treatment. Why had Dr Gatt allowed the dockyard CEO and marketing manager to leave before they were held to account?
PN REACTION
The PN in a reaction to the PL leader's speech, said Dr Muscat’s top priority seemed to be cosmetic changes within his party whilst the challenges, needs and aspirations of the people were way down in his priority list.
"If the Labour Leader really and truly wants a new style of doing politics then he would do well to stop sitting comfortably on the fence and come up with some serious, concrete proposals on how Malta can translate its current and immediate challenges into opportunities," the PN said. "Words come easy for Dr Muscat but, unfortunately, political substance is lacking and vision is non existent."
It also criticised the PL leader for being partisan on illeagl immigration without giving a hoot to the national interest.