Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this evening in Mosta lashed out at the leader of the Opposition for the double standards with regards to political action against his Deputy Leader, Beppe Fenech Adami.

Dr Muscat said that in seven days, the public has to decide whether they want to join him or not. He said PL accomplished 90% of the promised manifesto. Dr Muscat said that the manifesto was the real roadmap, a first in Maltese politics.

"Under the previous administration, the country was not experiencing surplus and the families were not being helped financially. Even companies were starting to leave the country. A problem after another, and we took the decision to change things around."

He said that before the 2013 election, the PN was trying to warn that Malta will be next to fail after Cyprus. "But they now fail to mention that we were never in such a situation."

Dr Muscat said that a couple of newspaper front pages have failed to damage Malta's reputation. "We took very difficult and courageous decisions. It was not easy, at times. We had every excuse to throw away our manifesto. We could have said that we don't have the finances to deliver. But instead, we kept on going and delivered the promises, one after the other."

Addressing the crowd in Mosta, the Prime Minister said that the PN administration never tackled issues related to debt and deficit. "The EU used to give them a whole list of things to do, but they would simply ignore it. There were 14 EU countries which had to tackle corruption. Malta was not one of them."

"We performed so well, even without increasing taxes," he said.

"Can you imagine Beppe Fenech Adami preparing the budget instead of Edward Scicluna?" he said while saying that he is surrounded by the best people.

In his speech, the PM reiterated the call for everyone to vote, otherwise the economic success will come crashing down. "We inherited the biggest deficit in Maltese history. Debt and failed companies, that's what we inherited." He said the government rolled up its sleeve and worked for a surplus. Dr Muscat said that the registered surplus will not be a one off thing. 

Dr Muscat said that although he may not be perfect, he admits his mistakes. But all the Opposition speaks about is corruption. "Simon Busuttil has ordered the issuing of fake invoices. This is money laundering. I am accusing you here, publicly."

He said that he took harsh political decisions, referring to Konrad Mizzi among others.

"I would want to stay silent, but I simply cannot. Simon Busuttil is a hypocrite. I told him very clearly, that his deputy leader is being investigated on money gained from money laundering, linked to drug trafficking. But he is not willing to take action, because he is a leader of double standards."

Lydia Abela spoke before the Prime Minister. She mentioned the Xarabank debate and said that Simon Busuttil only spoke about Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri and Egrant. She said the PN is obsessed with getting people behind bars and completely forgot the presentation of proposals.

Professor Edward Scicluna said that during every election week, the Nationalist Party comes up with some lie to tarnish the Labour Party's reputation. He said this is a very serious issue and these allegations originated from the party, simply because they want to be in power. "Don't be a chicken. You have to shoulder responsibility for your lies," he told Simon Busuttil.

Without uttering the words directly, Prof Scicluna compared the PN to the Sicilian mafia. "They come knocking on your door, and ask you for money to protect you from themselves."

Photos: Paul Jones