The leader of the Nationalist Party, Simon Busuttil, has joined an appeal made by GRTU and demanded that energy prices be decreased by 30%.

Speaking in an interview on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said that oil prices have come down from $120 a barrel as they were when PN was in government to $40 now.

GRTU has now urged the government to bring electricity prices down but, Dr Busuttil argued, also the electricity rates must be decreased, for the same reason.

He urged other constituted bodies and organisations to join in this demand.

The quite extensive radio interview marked the beginning of the week leading up to the PN mass meeting to be held next Sunday outside the new Parliament as Malta celebrates the 51st anniversary of independence and PN celebrates its 135 years.

The party has a glorious past and always worked for Malta, Dr Busuttil said, and will continue to do so.

It was very clear from the themes touched upon in the interview that PN wants to voice the many concerns of the people on the street.

On Thursday, Dr Busuttil had joined the prime minister in a two-and-a-half hour meeting of the Security Committee. He came out of that meeting, he said, even more worried than when he entered it.

Why had it been the PN to ask for such a meeting? Why did the PM himself not call for the meeting, considering the context (the case involving former PL treasurer Joe Sammut)?

Last year no less than 14,000 residency permits were issued to non-EU citizens, like the entire population of Mosta.

The current investigations have shown a number of irregularities and a number of foreign residents are also being investigated. He had asked for a public inquiry in this regard, Dr Busuttil said, asking if the government has anything to hide.

It is clear Mr Sammut was not alone, he had help. Corruption has become institutionalised.

The next subject touched upon by Dr Busuttil regarded thefts especially in the Sliema - St Julian's - Swieqi area.

He said the police are finding it difficult to cope, since they have had no less than four Police Commissioners in a short time, and two of them, those personally chosen by Dr Muscat, have ended badly.

More than just thefts and robberies, there is a general aura of lawlessness in many places, such as St Paul's Bay.

In St Julian's a man who approached people who were making a din was laughed at.

Government must increase the money spent on law and order. It had money for the likes of Cafe Premier and Gaffarena: did it not have for the police?

PN wants to voice the concerns of the people in other areas of life as well, such as health. It is unacceptable for people to die in a hospital corridor. PN left a good hospital: now its CEO is nowhere to be seen and the doctors are warning things are deteriorating.

Dr Busuttil's next target was the traffic: one is wasting an hour every morning and another hour every evening, a total of 10 hours every week, in the traffic. And it is not just at peak and rush hours that traffic slows down but at all times. Things will deteriorate once schools reopen.

The government has now proposed that schools start an hour earlier, when one sees students waiting on bus stops in the dark at 6.30am.

A year ago he had proposed that the government undertakes bussing of students not just to State schools butalso to church and private schools and he was ridiculed for it. Now this proposal is included among the minister's suggestions, with no reference to Dr Busuttil's speech on the Budget last year, of course. It was said that the government does not have that money, but the government did have money to increase the subsidy for public transport from €10 million to €30 million.

The public transport situation is far from being acceptable.

And the state of the roads is indescribable. This government is still finishing up the roadworks begun by the PN administration, such as the Coast Road.

Dr Busuttil admitted he has become a target for the government's criticism but that is a sign the Opposition is being an effective one, despite having nine seats less in Parliament and clocking 36,000 votes less.

PN wants to promote ethics and transparency in politics. Whatever the past administration's mistakes, there was never the obscenities that are happening now. Now more than ever, PN wants to stand for clean politics.