Alleanza Bidla leader Ivan Grech Mintoff today addressed a very small crowd in Rabat where he spoke of genuine “Labourites” and “Nationalists” who are fed up with mainstream party loyalty, and recognise that the two big parties do not represent the needs of the public and are looking for genuine change.
A "mass meeting" was held this morning, with just a dozen people braving the bad weather to attend the event. Mr Grech Mintoff claimed that a number of vans transporting people had been cancelled as it was assumed that the mass meeting would be cancelled due to bad weather. One of the main principles that Alleanza Bidla stands for is that it is against the EU because it believes it encroaches on Malta’s sovereignty.
He appealed to the hunters to stop thinking of themselves as a minority, and to use their strength in numbers to effect change:
“I am very surprised when over the last few weeks I have been told by you hunters, trappers and fishermen that getting out of the EU is very hard “as the two parties are just two strong and that you are a minority”. Are you not the majority who won the last referendum on hunting? Are you not supported by those who agree with you that this Maltese tradition, part of our culture is to be maintained? How can you be a minority when you have just shown all of Malta that you are actually the majority?!
“Secondly, in this district, I am told that there are over 6,700 people registered as possessing arms. Is it not true that you only need 4000 votes to get a seat in parliament? On your own you already have enough votes to get a seat elected! If with those 6700 gun holders you add your wives plus just one child each this means that there are over 20,000 votes to be used in the next election. A real and actual potential not of one seat but of five seats for Alleanza Bidla Party, your party just from the shooting/fishing/trapping community from just this one district alone.”
He spoke of Malta not being able to set and follow its own rules because of the way the EU has changed and developed, and called for Maltese identity, values and culture to be placed above all else.