Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today accused the Opposition leader of running a "xenophobic" campaign against the "American University of Malta" development in Marsascala and Cospicua.
Speaking at a political activity, Dr Muscat said he has received word that the PN is scaremongering and playing on xenophobic sentiments by telling residents in the area that it will be taken over by "blacks and Arabs" thanks to the AUM.
Dr Muscat continues to refer to the American University of Malta, when the licence issues speaks of an institute for higher education, while the developers will only be seeking a licence to operate a university later.
He challenged Simon Busuttil to "be a man" and go speak to residents himself instead of using his agents to spread these xenophobic sentiments.
Dr Muscat said 4,000 students will come to Malta thanks to the 'AUM' project, which will be a great boon to the economy.
The Prime Minister challenged Dr Busuttil's distancing from certain policies adopted by the former PN government.
Dr Muscat said Dr Busuttil was heavily involved in the previous government, therefore "if he was a man he should have resigned" if he did not agree with certain policies.
The Prime Minister defended the government's policy of fuel price stability, saying it is an improvement over past practices which saw constant price fluctuations.
"We do not react to the Opposition leader's insults because he is only harming himself, people do not want politics to be conducted in this manner. He resorts to insults because he has no plans when it comes to a fuel policy."
Dr Muscat fired off a list of government achievements, mentioning free childcare, a reduction in the tax burden, pension increases and improvements in the health service among others.
He welcomed a study conducted by Yale University which ranked Malta as the "ninth greenest" country in the world.
The Prime Minister said that the study did not just look at the amount of building permits issued in Malta, but took a holistic view about air quality, water quality and waste management.
"This is what makes the environment. It is about a holistic vision. We are tackling it head on," Dr Muscat said.