Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this evening outlined the government's vision for the country, saying that it is based on three pillars which will take Malta to a sounder and brighter future.

Addressing a Worker's Day mass meeting at Castille Square, Muscat said that the people knew where they are with Labour.

"With us you know where we are going – with anyone else there is emptiness," he said.  The government’s vision is based on three pillars; infrastructure, inclusion and innovation, Muscat said.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat started his speech by speaking of social justice and the creation of a new class for Malta’s children to keep moving forward. 

These are the values of the socialist movement, Muscat said.  In the years that this movement that this country has led, there have been great steps forward due to a concise plan that has seen a country go from deficit to surplus in a small number of years.

This was not because of austerity measures but because the government is pro-business, he said.  Muscat also spoke of national entities which have been saved from bankruptcy, and of removing two thirds of poverty from the country.

He spoke of measures which have improved the lives of pensioners, before repeating his statement from Tuesday at the GWU – that the government had given pensioners a lot, but it was nothing next to what they are still going to give them.

This is a government which carries out justice, not just in the money given back to workers, but in terms of time as well.  After years of the government robbing people of their holidays, we gave them back to workers, he said before continuing in saying that the government had also made sure that everybody had the medicine that they needed.

“All this was done because Malta and the Maltese are in our hearts”, he said.

He said that the government was working on projects which nobody could dream of, citing the extensive Marsa junction project and the permanent link between Malta and Gozo.  

He noted that today the government is carrying out the biggest social housing project in 40 years; €110 million in 38 sites across the country which will create 1,200 units of housing and in the near future, the government will be in a position to add onto these.

Muscat said that they had the pulse of the people – the government knows who is doing well but also knows who is not and who needs help.  He cited the equity sharing scheme to help those who cannot get a loan from the bank to buy property as an example of what the government has done because of the work done to get the country’s economy back onto its feet.

We haven’t simply turned the country around from one which loses money to one which makes money, Muscat said, we have made it a country which helps those in the present, but also saves up for the generations of the future.

“We are leaving wealth for them to invest in the future”, Muscat said before adding that this is why the government can speak of social justice measures.

People are now thinking, rightly so, of how they can spend more time with their children and it is an obligation of the government to this, he said.  It would be a mistake not to appreciate the needs of this changing society – this is the beauty of social mobility, he added.

This is why the government will carry out the biggest investment seen in a generation for an open, recreational space, Muscat said before adding that the government had taken back a tract of land which they could have developed to instead give it back to the people.

He said that the government needs to help those wanting to open up into new sectors, adding that those who want to invest in new sectors such as blockchain and AI will found a shoulder of support from the government and that the Maltese are not afraid of change and of investing.

The Prime Minister said that the government would not leave people to be taken by the wind and will be there to help everyone.  He said that innovation is not just in labs but it is in culture as well; “look around you – never has there been such investment in culture”, he said before citing the legacy of Valletta18, and measures to improve accessibility for children and pensioners to cultural sites.

“To reach our aims we need everyone – that is why we implemented the reform to increase equality and representation of women in Parliament and away from it”, he said. 

Now in a defiant mood, Muscat spoke of the changes that had been done in social spheres – divorce reforms, equal marriage and others – saying that inclusion brings satisfaction to everyone.  

He said that the government would make sure that the young girls of society would have the same opportunities, same pays and same chances at career advancements as their male counterparts.

He then spoke of the importance of European values, on the occasion of 15 years since Malta entered the EU, and of the need for respect and tolerance and the need to compete in the every globalising world as a continent. 

Muscat took a veiled dig at the PN, saying that it was pointless praising those who had worked to take Malta into the EU and then warning against the values of the European Union and trying to scare people and exclude foreigners. 

“They say that we have Malta bursting with foreigners; I say that we have Malta bursting with jobs”, Muscat said.

He said that with socialists across the continent he had found people who understood the country, sometimes having to explain matters because members of the Opposition had spread falsities and to try to draw a picture of Malta which does not exist.

He gave Timmermans his word that in the Labour government, he would find a progressive government and MEPs which will support his campaign for the European Commission.

He spoke of the government’s work in numerous ad hoc agreements for the redistribution of migrants, agreements which came about following various instances of NGO ships picking up migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Africa, saying that he had secured European help whilst making sure that Malta does not burden itself more than it should.

He moved on to saying that the PN, although not mentioned by name, had essentially told 130,000 people across 23 districts that they did not need to vote for local council elections by not fielding enough candidates, in the hope that these people would not vote for the MEP elections as well.

“Those who tried to stop you from voting, will be presented with an answer on 25 May”, Muscat exclaimed before adding that the Labour party wanted everybody to vote, including 16 year olds, who would be voting for the first time this May.

 “The choice on 25 May is between those who create jobs and those who create divisions; between those who offer hope and those who sow fear; between those who believe in inclusion and those who want isolation; between those who work with love and those who work with jealous; between Joseph Muscat and Adrian Delia”, he said.

Concluding, Muscat said that now is the time to come together to show that Malta truly is living together and living the best of times, and that this was a movement that had every youth, every class, every Gozitan, every Maltese, every European and – more than anything – Malta itself at heart.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne was the first to address the gathered crowd, speaking of how 90 years ago, when the first Worker’s Day was celebrated in Malta, the dream was that the worker does not die poor – but today the dream for the government is that the worker is rich in opportunities, environment and means.

“This is Labour’s dream today – to cut out poverty once and for all for our country and make the workers rich”.

He said that the government has to keep ensuring the opening of new sectors and businesses so the current economic growth can continue and workers can keep opportunities, before adding that Malta must keep investing in its environment as it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and must also be rich in means of education, communication, and connectivity.

Fearne also had a passionate plea for Joseph Muscat: “Stay on with us for many more years!”

“After spending 25 years in Opposition now, if we stay united, we have the opportunity to spend 25 years in government”, the animated Deputy Prime Minister told the crowd.

Vice President of European Commission, and the Party of European Socialists' candidate for the European Commission (Spitzenkandidat) Franz Timmermans also addressed the mass meeting, giving a rallying cry for the Maltese to give faith to the socialists.

He said that in five years the pay gap between men and women must be reduced to zero, and that it was time for trade unions to be put back in a position to bargain for better salaries.  He also noted that every fourth child in Europe is brought up in poverty, saying that this had to end and that it is the Labour movement that can end this.

 “I want you think of where you want to be five years from now, and which party is going to take you there in the best possible way”, Timmermans said before asking whether it would be the Nationalists or Conseratives who take the country there – a suggestion which was met with a resounding “no” from the crowd.  “It will be the Labour party who can take you there”, Timmermans said.

“We will make sure that your dreams about equality, social justice, environment, and transport will be realised under the guidance of Joseph Muscat and the Labour Party”, he concluded.

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Earlier

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will be addressing a mass meeting in Castille Square in Valletta as the Labour Party commemorates the occasion of Worker’s Day.

Aside from commemorating Worker’s Day however, the mass meeting is expected to be the launch pad for the Labour Party’s campaign for the MEP and local council elections.

The mass meeting is expected to kick off at around 5pm, although a crowd has already started to gather in the square with a party atmosphere and an air of excitement enveloping the area with well known local performers such as Versatile Brass and Ryan Spiteri performing, before being followed by international artist Corona on stage.