PN Leader Simon Busuttil this evening said Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi had turned reality upside down.

Addressing a mass meeting in Sliema, Dr Busuttil compared the FIAU reports scandal to a house burglary. “Imagine looking out of your window and seeing two burglars escaping with gold and silver. And they escape in a car driven by a third person. You follow them and witness them launder the stolen money. You go to the police and file a report but they do nothing about it.  Then the burglars turn to us and accuse us of harming the country and that we should be the ones to resign. They are living a lie, have turned reality upside down. We are here to tell them that we will not live that lie and on Saturday we will give them our answer with our vote.”

Dr Busuttil said the Prime Minister was not only attacking him. “He is blaming the whistleblower, the Russian secret service and the inquiring magistrate. It seems everyone is wrong, except the PM. We are here to tell him that we will never accept this, that wrong can never become right.”

“For him nothing matters, everything keeps on going, even the Enemalta deal, the tanker, nothing is bad, nothing disturbs him, he doesn’t mind. But for us it matters, for us not everything is acceptable, for us, what is bad can never be good. It is not a surprise that the people are disgusted and angry,” he said.                        

PN Mass Meeting Sliema MKE17401.MOV from The Malta Independent on Vimeo.

Dr Busuttil said the Prime Minister was closing an eye to corruption. “Today Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi were exposed to have received kickbacks from the gas tanker, and from the Enemalta privatization deal, but Joseph Muscat saw nothing wrong with this. People are disgusted and angry. The government will fine you for the smallest infractions but the laws do not apply to its highest officials.”

He went on to say that people rightfully ask, “why do I have to declare taxes if Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri do what they want. Why do I have to obey laws, they do what they want, whenever they want, is the law really equal for everyone? God forbid I do something bad because they fine me, but these do something bad and nothing happens to them. Why are these having a ball with money whilst I am hardly able to get by?”                        

“Our principles, honesty and integrity come before anything else. We are not for sale.”

Dr Busuttil said that if the economy is doing so well today it could do so much better when corruption is eradicated.

“This time next week we will know the result of the judgment of the Maltese and Gozitan population. They will be choosing a road, ‘Corruption Road’ or ‘The alternative road’, of Forza Nazzjonali, of honest politics.  “Seven days is enough chance to influence the result, all we need to do is imagine the result we want in a week and talk about it.

“We have a situation that cannot be more serious than it is; in no normal country in Europe can you imagine it happening. We have a prime minister who called an investigation after the evidence was removed, who asked for investigation after the Police Commissioner had finished eating his rabbit, he called an investigation once the evidence was done with,” he told the crowd.  

                     

“I am going to use a word which Godfrey Farrugia used, he mentioned the torch, which is at heart of all Labourites,” Godfrey Farrugia said, “He will be there for the torch of honesty and goodwill, today we know that this torch has been extinguished because they suffocated it. It does not show anymore. I invite you to light the torch of honesty and goodwill together, and which shows us the future of our country; let’s get together, nationalists, labourites, Maltese and Gozitans to vote for our country on 3 June.”

Addressing those Nationalist voters who put their trust in Joseph Muscat in the last elections, Dr Busuttil said “Our biggest defect was that we weren’t there for you, when you looked for us we weren’t there. I understand that this was our defect, we understand that was our defect and we thank you for your lesson because we have matured, and we are determined to eliminate this defect once and for all, he saidm saying he is personally guaranteeing that himself”.

“This is what we started,” said Dr Busuttil, quoting the theme song of the electoral campaign “saying it is the start of a new chapter, with new trust”.

PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said that PM Joseph Muscat made three dangerous statements in the last week.

He put pressure on the magistrate who is investigating him, he said the Russians were behind the Egrant saga and that he still needs Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri to work for him.

He then went on the list a number of projects which were started by the Nationalist government and were continued, and opened, by the Labour government. The only project entrusted to the Labour government was not completed within the legislature; instead of a flyover, we had a game over, Fenech Adami said.

The projects made by Joseph Muscat were not for Malta, but for themselves, such as the sale of Enemalta and the LNG gas tanker.

He said that the fact that Muscat did not remove Mizzi and Schembri it means that Muscat is an accomplice in what they have done.

There are many people who still need to decide what to do on Saturday. The choice is between the corrupt clique of Castille and Malta, Fenech Adami said.

PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said Joseph Muscat gave up only after four years, and called an election because he is afraid – not because of Malta’s reputation going down the drain and the damage being caused to the economy – but to save his own skin.

Muscat saw that his government’s position was being weakened, and he was concerned that scandals were being unearthed on a regular basis, de Marco said.

Muscat’s plan for a 10-year stay at the government was going to the dogs, and in his panic he called a snap election. This happened while a magisterial inquiry was taking place about him, de Marco said.

Muscat thought that he would have found a Forza Nazzjonali which is unprepared, but even in this he is wrong. We have rebuilt the Nationalist Party in the last four years. We have become the voice of people with low wages and of the small businesses. We have given a voice to pensioners, environmentalists and young people.

We have also become the party who gave a voice to people who want to live in a normal country, where the rule of law is strong and there is no law of the jungle, Dr de Marco said. 

Dr de Marco went on to speak about the pledges of the party. “At the beginning of the campaign he asked where are your proposals? And this question was answered with more than 500 pledges,” he said.

He said that Joseph Muscat has been “trying to point his finger at everyone, from Russians to our judiciary. He ended up pointing his finger at everyone except at himself”.

“We tell our our magistrates and judges don’t be scared, we are going to assure your independence, we have trust in the judiciary, us leaders of the Forza Nazzjonali, we tell Joseph Muscat, you are not going to intimidate us, in the confrontation of corruption, in the face of all Malta and Gozo.”

The last stable Labour government was that of 1976, Partit Demokratiku Leader Marlene Farrugia said.

In 1981, Labour governed without a majority, in 1996 the government collapsed after two years and now, in spite of a nine-seat majority, the government was unable to finish its term.

It was the Nationalist Party that built a strong country, and the Labour government continued on the successes created by the PN. The PN created “product Malta”, and now we must vote for the PN-PD coalition to see Malta grow in every sector, from the economy to the environment.

She said that Labour does not accept women as equals, and has attacked and insulted women on a number of occasions. She called on all women to vote for a party that guaranteed a victory for the whole country, not for part of it.

"A few years ago I was with a Labour Party who wanted Malta to take a leap forward, Godfrey and I still have that desire, but the party we were part of betrayed us,” she said. 

“Our reputation has taken a big hit, along with democracy, “ she said.

She described Simon Busuttil as a “Maltese Hero”, saying that he opened his arms to everyone. “At this point we all have to enter and be there for Malta. Everyone thinks we are going to be some unstable, the last stable government was in 1976. So if you want stability, you choose Forza Nazzjonalista, made up of PN and PD and all those who put national interest first,” she said. 

Our vision is to give this country the direction it needs. She said the party wants sutainable development and respect for, not only current generation but also future generations. “When you think what Joseph Muscat did, all he did was sell what our ancestors prepared, citizenship, hospitals, energy, “ she said, asking the crowd to be intelligent in their choice.

Manfred Weber, a German MEP and chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP) addressed the crowd, calling it “amazing”. “When I look in your eyes and smell the atmosphere, it looks like change,” he said,  “Malta needs change and a new Government. Your decision is not only a decision about your country but a decision for Europe.”

“The fundamental point of success in an election is trust,” he continued, “ trust in politicians, trust in the future of the country and of the European community. The PN is a big part of the EPP and their MEPs are doing great there.” 

“We are not perfect in Europe but as EPP we know how good the European way of life is and we will defend this.”

He spoke about migration and terroris, referring to the Manchester attacks he said,  “the offender was a UK citizen,” we  are working strongly together to protect our security, we want to fight against terrorism.”

After mentioning that socialists model all over Europe are “old models,” he went on to say that “Italy is one of the problems in the European Union, don’t follow the Italian approach, follow the EPP approach,” mentioning that the guest speaker at the Labour Party mass meeting today is Matteo Renzi. 

“It was a scandal to see the only Minister on the Panama List leading the energy council,” he said, referring to Konrad Mizzi, “that was a shame on Europe.” “We have taken note when Keith Schembri did not respect European Parliament and so not respecting democracy.” “We know that this behavior is not Malta, this corruption is not Malta, Joseph Muscat is not Malta,” he said.  He concluded by saying “Malta deserves a better future, we, you will be the future of Malta, I know Simon Busuttil as an honest man, as a man of integrity, as a true friend, and a true leader.”