PN secretary general Chris Said today accused the Labour Party of conducting its European Parliament (EP) campaign “off the back of taxpayers’ money.”
Dr Said said that for every one Labour billboard one comes across, there are six or seven times the amount of government billboards that are all geared towards the EP elections. This, he said, is costing taxpayers "thousands."
He said the Labour Party is conducting a “bombastic campaign built on illusions,” while the PN will be conducting a more modest campaign in light of the party’s well-publicised financial woes.
“We will not be spending a lot of money, we will be spending what we have in hand, contrary to the Labour Party,” Dr Said said.
Speaking at an EP campaign press conference in Mgarr Gozo, Dr Said accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of reneging on his many promises to improve Gozitans’ quality of life.
He said that there is a “huge void” in Gozo, with both government and private projects being at a standstill.
He asked what has become of the projects promised by Dr Muscat, such as the proposed casino and the cruise liner terminal.
The Gozitan MP welcomed the increase in tourists visiting both Malta and Gozo last year, but warned that tourism alone is not enough to generate employment in Gozo.
Dr Said said that contrary to Dr Muscat’s promise of creating more jobs for Gozitans in Gozo, Gozitan workers with government jobs are actually being sent to work in Malta.
Reminding of Dr Muscat’s 6am ferry ride last year to understand what Gozitan workers and students go through on a daily basis, Dr Said pointed out that he has yet to see the Prime Minister tackle a similar commute, or do anything to improve Gozo’s accessibility.
The PN has offered to work with the government towards a job creation programme, but the government “wants to go it alone.” He said that unemployment in Gozo has increased by 6%.
PN MEP candidates Francis Zammit Dimech and Kevin Cutajar said that they will focus on “regional politics” if elected to the EP, as well as securing funds for Gozo.