Appearing relaxed in a polo shirt yesterday morning outside as he addressed supporters outside the Gzira Malta Labour Party club, MLP leader Joseph Muscat described this week’s agreement on the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to thrash out a host of issues of national importance identified by the opposition and government as a “major step forward for democracy”.

On Wednesday, the MLP and the government reached a historic and unanimous agreement in Parliament on the setting up of the committee, an agreement that resulted from a series of correspondence between Dr Muscat and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

The committee is set to thrash out a wide range of issues deemed to be of national importance by the two leaders, and will see the government and opposition holding an equal three seats each on the committee.

Describing the development as an “important sign” for the country’s future, Dr Muscat said both political parties would be sitting around the same table to reach consensus on the issues.

The remit of discussions is to include subjects proposed by Dr Muscat and Dr Gonzi, and the Committee will make recommendations to Parliament based on its bilateral discussions.

Speaking yesterday, Dr Muscat underscored how the committee would not operate solely from within the confines of Parliament, but that it would also be hearing out the opinions, suggestions and recommendations of civil society.

Among the topics initially identified for discussion are reforming the Permanent Commission against Corruption by, among other matters, legally instituting a special investigator for the Commission; and providing for a better functioning and provision of resources for Parliament.

The committee will also discuss public broadcasting and the better regulation of political stations.

Others items to be placed on the agenda include strengthening the Office of the Ombudsman so that it would be able to take responsibility for and coordinate all complaints against the administration of all sections of the public service; an update of the Electoral Law, which will require a Constitutional revision; and measures to restrict the possibility of conflicts of interest on the part of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

Parliamentary business to be put up for discussion include rules on the appointment of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and committee presidents; parliamentary pairing; the prime minister’s question time; sitting times; the quorum and increasing the resources placed at the disposition of parliamentary groups.

But, Dr Muscat stressed, the items on the agenda would not necessarily be tackled as a complete package but rather on a case by case basis, allowing for quicker action in a number of areas.

Turing to last week’s public transport strike, Dr Muscat gave credit where it was due and heaped praise on Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco, who had gone the extra mile by meeting with foreign students who had witnessed scenes of violence last week.

In so doing, he added, Dr de Marco had “done well”.

Dr Muscat was, on the other hand, harsh in his condemnation of the violence erupting on Malta’s roads, on the part of certain striking transport workers, and condemned their actions “without reservations”.

The country and its economy, he said, had been brought to a standstill for four days, incurring millions of euros in losses for the private sector. Dr Muscat pointed out that the effect of the strike had been heaviest on Malta’s workers, who had suffered the brunt of the actions, and not the county’s ministers, who travelled back and forth from work in air conditioned cars.

Discussions with striking parties, he said, should have been held from day one, as the MLP had appealed for, and not only after four days of havoc on the roads. To add insult to injury, he remarked, the government had also granted hearse operators an additional e230,000 as part of a settlement agreement. Dr Muscat questioned on what criteria the funds had been promised, and warned the government against setting dangerous precedents.

As an MEP, Dr Muscat recalled, he had raised the issue of hearse liberalisation in Malta with the European Commission back in December 2006, but at the time the government had refused to liberalise – despite a decision from the Maltese Commission for Fair Trading that the market was indeed an open one and that there was no reason to refuse the issuing of new hearse licences.

But now after the general elections, Dr Muscat said, matters had changed and a decision on the issue had been taken by the government behind closed doors. This, he said, was a prime example of the government’s inconsistency.

Now that the strike has been resolved, Dr Muscat said that consumers were expecting better a service and prices. The MLP, he added, would be monitoring the situation over the coming weeks.

Referring to last March’s closing of price stability agreements the government had entered into with importers in the lead up to the country’s euro adoption, he cited figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm, which showed Malta was now seeing price increases higher than the eurozone average.

At the same time, he said, the country was also suffering the highest inflation rates of the last 10 years, despite assurances from the government that the situation was under control after the wrapping up of the price stability agreements.

This government, Dr Muscat said, merely paid lip service to the issues of consumer rights and competition.

Turning to the surcharge, which had recently been raised to 95 per cent, Dr Muscat accused the government of making another u-turn to the detriment of the people.

Although the government had on 1 July announced that the electricity surcharge was to almost double and increase to 95 per cent, Dr Muscat said consumers would not be rewarded for reduced consumption patterns adopted since the announcement.

This, he said, was down to the fact that while many consumers had become more fastidious about their electricity consumption habits since the 1 July announcement, such efforts would not be accounted for in upcoming electricity bills. This, he said, meant that upcoming 95 per cent surcharge payments would be based on consumption patterns registered months ago, when the last meter readings were taken, and not on new consumption habits adopted after the 1 July announcement.