Opposition leader Simon Busuttil today promised that PN MEPs will act as the voice of the people, and will not be “lackeys” like the Mepa board, citing the “pressure” applied by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on the board to approve the government’s LNG project.
Speaking at a political event in Gozo, Dr Busuttil repeated his satisfaction with the government’s explanation on abortion, calling the issue a closed chapter.
He did however point out that although abortion and civil unions are allowed in the EU, it was the Labour Party that chose to introduce civil unions.
“The EU does not impose these things on you,” he said.
He said that the PN “recognised” that it was time to introduce civil unions in Malta, but said that more needs to be done to prepare society for gay adoptions.
On spring hunting, Dr Busuttil said that the matter is no longer in politicians’ hands if a referendum is held, and the PN will bow its head to the decision taking.
Citizenship monitoring board
Dr Busuttil admonished the government for not holding a single meeting of the citizenship monitoring board.
“I have called for a meeting but none has been held. We want to know who the people [buying citizenship] are and where they are coming from,” Dr Busuttil said.
“I publicly challenge the government to call a meeting of the committee and reveal who is buying Maltese citizenship,” he said.
POYC ‘discrimination’ and health budget
Dr Busuttil lauded the “brave” pharmacist who yesterday spoke out about the alleged discrimination occurring in the Pharmacy of Your Choice (POYC) scheme. He called it shameful that the government is picking and choosing who to give medicines to on the basis of their political allegiances.
He said that the government is playing with words in claiming that the amount of out-of-stock medicines has been reduced, by now referring to them as “pending orders.”
Asked if the PN has abandoned its consensus-seeking policy in the health sector, Dr Busuttil said that it is leaving the door open, but past experience with Health and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi does not augur well.
He called on the Prime Minister to get his priorities right, saying that any reductions in the health budget in order to reduce the government’s deficit are not on.
Earlier this week, Malta Medical Association President Martin Balzan said that during an MCESD meeting, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna floated the possibility of such a cut in the health budget.