Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today presented the European Parliament (EP) elections as being a simple choice between him and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.
“You have to judge me personally, whether I am leading the country well or whether you want Simon Busuttil to lead this country.”
“It is not only a choice between EP candidates, although it is a hard choice because we have 12 quality candidates. Let us be honest, it is a choice between me and the Opposition leader. You have to make that choice again, I trust you to make the right choice, I believe in you,” Dr Muscat told a sizeable crown in Qormi.
Dr Muscat said that while other Prime Ministers may be scared of the EP elections boiling down to a personal judgement on their leadership, he will not shy away from it.
“I am not going to shun the responsibility, it is my pleasure to be judged by you next Saturday. When you are leading a country you do not have the luxury of abstaining from decisions,” Dr Muscat said.
“Those who do not take decisions do not make mistakes, but even in not deciding the Opposition leader managed to make a mistake,” Dr Muscat said, in reference to the PN’s abstention in the civil unions vote.
“I am ready to carry the burden of responsibility. You have the responsibility to vote for this movement, to give another strong signal.”
The Prime Minister warned against complacency, saying that in politics every race goes down to the wire.
“I will work till the very last minute to ensure that the Labour Party and this government will have a majority of votes in the European Parliament elections. I implore you to do the same, let us show that this movement is strong, let us convince more people to once again show this country and Europe that Malta is full of positive energy,” Dr Muscat said.
‘We have embraced the winds of change’
The Prime Minister said that the government has “embraced the winds of change,” while the PN simply led the country into the EU and is now “scared” of the resultant change.
He said that the Labour movement is the only proven European one, and it is facilitating a liberal environment which will allow people to live their lives as they see fit without fear of judgement or prejudice.
“We will challenge the status quo, we will challenge the ensconced mentality.”
“This change will transcend the lower electricity bills, the free childcare, the VAT refunds. We are building a country that is truly European,” Dr Muscat said.
On allowing police to unionise, Dr Muscat said that while “others” wanted to impose on the police which union to join, the government opted for a different formula and refused to “intrude on who you want to defend your rights.”