Updated 12.05pm - Added PN reaction

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today expressed his belief that the “silent majority” had supported the way government had approached difficult situations over the past weeks in a manner which united people.

Speaking during a short telephone interview on ONE Radio, Dr Muscat said the biggest test for a government was how it handled challenging situations.

Dr Muscat, who according to a survey published in Malta Today has improved his trust rating over the past weeks, said people were shunning the Opposition’s negative style of politics.

Multiple election defeats had shown people rejected this negative style, Dr Muscat said, saying the results should serve as a wake-up call for the Opposition.

Dr Muscat, who last week attended a passport sale event in Hong Kong, said he went to Asia to attract more business and meet investors.

The Prime Minister said that despite a recent glowing report by the IMF, the government would not stop in its efforts to attract more investment to Malta.

He said initiatives like free childcare could only be offered because of the continued investment in the country. If the investment stopped, the government would not be able to afford free childcare, he said.

On the new media law, Dr Muscat said the government had taken the criticism on board and improved the law.

There would now be a media law which had everyone’s support, he said. 

'Not a word about security' - PN

In a reaction to Dr Muscat's comments, the Nationalist Party said that the Prime Minister had pointedly avoided discussing safety and security in the country. 

Residents in Marsa and St Paul's Bay no longer felt safe inside their own homes and murders like last Friday's were unfortunately becoming commonplace, the party said. 

That last statement provoked a counter-reaction from the Labour Party, which said the PN's attempts to politicise a murder was "shameful." 

"Facts show that over the past decade 2012, the Nationalist administration's last year in power, was the year with the highest murder rate," the PL said.