Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday, during a political activity in St Paul's Bay, that government will not fall victim to provocation which in the past weeks, "has grown astronomically, thanks to an extremist clique within the PN."
This "extremist clique," he said, not only attack the Labour Party, but also foreigners and those among them who do not want to be so extreme.
"When I see this extremism, our answer will be to offer a hand of friendship for all those who want to Malta move forward. He said that there is a silent majority of people in Malta who have a sense of proportionality, who know when to criticise and when to admit something is positive. They are looking on and seeing those people who want to go back to extremist politics, and those who want to work together."
He spoke of recent conspiracy theories related to the hijacking, as well as another conspiracy "that we turned off the electricity on purpose. Are these PN extremists serious. If at all the outage showed how the PL plan was needed. We said from the get-go that the interconnector is good, but also we said that it wasn't enough on its own. Due to the storm in Italy, they were not able to pass on electricity to Malta. The PN wanted to close all stations and rely on the interconnector, which would have meant waiting for the Italians to fix problems from their end. Our plan will see us take energy from the interconnector, but also independently from plants here in Malta."
He was addressing a political activity in St Paul's Bay, and upon entering the venue, "happy birthday" chants could be heard as he entered.
He said that government will remain focussed on what families feel, even though Malta holds the EU Presidency. "During this period where we have a lot of commitments outside of Malta, our main priority remains our country, remains the Maltese families."
"Even though I was in the EU Parliament this week, everything I spoke about there is what affects us here. We told the EU that come spring, many migrants would want to cross the EU, and that the EU is not ready. It is true that the past three years saw very few migrant arrivals, but this was not due to migrants not crossing. Our work, for our country and for the EU is to tell the other countries to wake up and so that together we can see how to find solutions. We cannot build a wall out at sea. If a boat is sinking, the only decision is to save their lives or let them down. This country will never do anything to let people die, as we would go against everything we stand for. We can, however, work with the countries of origin."
"While speaking about all this in the EU Parliament, I had localities like St Pauls Bay in mind. Many people think that there are no issues emanating from migration, and do not realise that localities in Malta are affected. You think I don't realise what pressure families who live in places like St Paul's Bay feel, who feel that certain St Paul's Bay zones are perilous, that there are some zones very few Maltese are seen?" He spoke of people coming from certain Eastern-European, non-EU countries, who fight at night after football matches, painting graffiti, etc.
He stressed, however, that migration is not solved by people waving a flag saying that Malta should kick them all out. "People only say that because they don't know what that are talking about.
He said that if politicians don't understand that person, who says he is the only Maltese person at work and is fearing that he will lose his job to a foreigner, "If we do not show these people that we understand what they are going through, they will turn to extremism".
Government's response, he said, is to say that Malta will keep working for an EU agreement to discourage people crossing the EU. He asked however; "if I were not to pick up the phone and answer a call about a boat sinking, but you had to pick up the phone, would you let them drown or not? That is the only decision one must make."
He said to those who fear losing their jobs to foreigners, that today many employers struggle finding employees. "If there is someone who wants to work in construction they would find a job immediately."
"For Malta to move forward, we have to employ foreigners. We must ensure that they are not taking Maltese jobs because they are being paid less, or because they are being abused. He said that there is abuse, where vans pickup foreigners who work them for a day off-the books, and these take work from Maltese and foreigners who pay taxes." He said that government is working on stopping this.
"Once we ensure that a foreigner is paid as much as a Maltese person, the Maltese person will be at an advantage, and abuse will be removed."
"Our vision is for a cosmopolitan country, where Maltese have the best quality of life we have ever had. The second part of our vision is that this country grows so much that it begins offering such a life to persons from other countries."
"This was part of Mintoff's vision. I am pleased that what Mintoff envisioned so many years ago, we have began implementing today. This is our vision."
He said that Malta went from a country where people left to succeed, to one where others come here to succeed.
Economy Minister Chris Cardona called it ironic that while Malta is the President of the EU Council, that the head of the PL is Prime Minister right now, "as they (the PN) were going to drive Malta right into a wall."
"You have a cabinet that is making you proud in Malta and in Brussels, and we are sending a clear message, that this is the best Cabinet Malta has had."
He turned to Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil, and the coalition he created. "It was a coalition of bitterness," he said. "It would be good for him to tell us who will form part of it, as if it will be formed by Beppe Fenech Adami, Tonio Fenech, George Pullicino and now Jason Azzopardi, he will have a coalition of one scandal after another."
He turned to the Lowenbrau situation. "They are saying everything occurred legally and that the PN did nothing wrong, when we know that a place worth €8 million was sold for €700,000, when we know that €250,000 was donated to the PN from the person who bought it."
"So now we buy houses today with the price of 13 years ago. What hypocrisy."
"No wonder he picked Salvu Mallia, you need a comedian to lead this coalition."
The upcoming election, he said, will be about competence. Which party is competent enough to ensure that your families will have a better quality of life. He said that the Economy Ministry has kept 90% of the 2013 electoral promises thus far."
PL MP Anthony Agius Decelis also addressed the event, and said that he is pleased to see homes heated with gas and electric heaters, "especially the elderly homes that, up until recently, told me they would need to turn on candles to avoid paying high tariffs."
"We want you to live with your minds at ease, comfortably."
He said the Prime Minister has made a huge difference over the last four year period, and said that nobody complains about out-of stock medicines any more.
He praised the Labour government's work to reduce unemployment. "We are pleased to have created a situation where we have the lowest unemployment rate in over 30 years."
Malta, he said, was the first country that did not want to exclude anyone, and then he proceeded to speak about free childcare, and single mothers.
"We also want the best work opportunities for prsons with disability. Everyone has a right to live with dignity."
He spoke of the number of young persons entering the world of work, the rise given in stipends, and that government does not want a single child who does not have any exposure to tablets.
"When we invest in our children's education, we are making the best decision for our country."
PN response
The only provocation and political hatred in Malta comes from “Muscat’s corrupt clique," the PN said in a statement.
"Government is stuck in scandals and corruption, and instead of taking the necessary steps like a serious Prime Minister, he tries to tarnish others.”
“No lies or provocation will stop the PN from uncovering corruption. While the PN has a coalition against the most corrupt government in the country, the PL is divided between The Prime Minister’s corrupt clique, and those who are fed up of the filth at the highest levels of the party.”