Addressing a crowd of party faithful at the first mass meeting held for the European Parliament and local council elections on 12 June, Dr Sant said the World Bank report on pensions that the MLP published last Wednesday should have been made public as soon as it was received because it was a matter of national importance.

In his speech, Dr Sant referred to a wide array of issues which Labour officials are raising during this election campaign, among which was the rise in the price of several items. He said that although the price of wines and pasta had fallen, local pasta and wine producers were firing workers because they could not compete with foreign imports.

Dr Sant once against insisted on the need to set up a price watch because the “people needed to be informed about the fluctuation in prices”. He said the price of certain food items was going to rise after the 12 June election.

He mentioned, among other things, meat products which, he said, will increase by between 90 and 120 per cent, while cereals and cheese will double.

Dr Sant said the government cannot continue using the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” attitude because it should be accountable for whatever it does. He called on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to investigate claims that Foreign Minister John Dalli was involved in some kind of scandal involving an Iranian company. He said this lack of transparency increases uncertainty in the country.

Dr Sant urged his followers to convince people to use their right to vote on 12 June and to vote for all the candidates fielded by the MLP. He said people who do not vote will be giving their vote to the Nationalist Party. During his speech, the Labour leader also read out a number of letters the party received from European socialists, including one from former Italian premier Giuliano Amato.

Also addressing yesterday mass meeting were Labour deputy leaders Michael Falzon and Charles Mangion. Dr Falzon spoke about how the MLP campaign was in the national interest and how the party was uncovering the government’s arrogance. He also spoke about figures on unemployment in Malta and said that while the National Statistics Office said the unemployment rate in Malta in 2003 was 5.5 per cent, the European Central Bank said the figure was 8.2 per cent.

Dr Mangion said the MLP’s campaign will lead the party to a success. While the foundations the government had created were spending Lm75 million, he said, the government was saying that the pension system in Malta was unsustainable and needed to be reformed. He also spoke about the Lm1.3 billion debt the country had which meant a debt of Lm3,500 for each citizen. After the 12 June success, said Dr Mangion, the MLP will start preparing to give the country the government it deserved.

Four of the eight EP candidates being fielded by the MLP for the 12 June election also addressed the meeting. Glenn Bedingfield spoke about how the challenges the country was facing needed to be changed into opportunities and how the country needed Labour representatives to do this effectively.

John Attard Montalto made a very eloquent and emotional speech on how now was the right time for people to show that they were truly Labourites. He said the 12 June election was not a vote for Europe but “it’s between us and them”. He continued: “Vote for the flame you love so much. We have to make Alfred Sant our prime minister but first we have to start winning again. Vote Labour and the day after the election, we will be back here to celebrate.”

Robert Micallef spoke about how the government wanted to strip the workers off what they had achieved in the past and urged people to vote Labour in order to give “Malta the dignity it deserves”.

The last speaker was Louis Grech who called on people not to give in to any intimidation, adding that these elections should be used to show how the MLP is a united and strong political party.