Acting Labour leader Charles Mangion yesterday said the Labour Party believed that change was needed in Malta not only because the government was showing signs of tiredness but also because Labour’s proposals would stimulate the economy and create employment.

Addressing the media and social partners at a social activity, Dr Mangion said interesting and important times were due for the system of political democracy. The MLP was proposing renewal in many sectors of government after 20 years of almost uninterrupted Nationalist government. The renewal affected education, the promotion of free health services for all, inflation, the environment and accountability in public management.

He appealed to the media to convey the Labour message objectively. For communication between the parties and the public to succeed, the media had to respect truth and protect the fundamental interests of the public to be informed objectively of what was happening around them.

Dr Mangion said that the media in Malta had generally made huge steps forward in its professionalism, but there was a lot more that needed to be done. The media had a mission to inform the public of the facts and to evaluate those facts. But it also had the responsibility of being genuine in its interpretation of facts. The national radio and television, funded by the public, should be balanced, objective and sufficiently responsible to convey the message of every political party.

As for the social partners, Dr Mangion told them that they had an important and vital role in society. Labour would keep the doors of consultation open to them continually and without reserve, in all transparency, obviously without abdicating the responsibility of decision-making which every elected government had.

Their thoughts would not always coincide but with sincere dialogue they would understand each other well and protect the different interests they represented, Dr Mangion said.

The occasion was addressed also by party general secretary Jason Micallef who recalled the invitation party leader Alfred Sant had made last November to the Prime Minister, calling on him to accept, as was done abroad, debates on the national broadcaster. The debates, which could be regulated by the Broadcasting Authority, would be between the Labour leader and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, who would shortly be calling a general election, was in duty bound to reply to the Labour leader’s proposal, Mr Micallef said.