Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today said he does not believe statements he made yesterday, with regards to jobs for Maltese and foreigners, was aimed at creating a classist society.

Muscat yesterday said, during a head-to-head debate with Delia on TVM: “I want the Maltese youths to take the skilled jobs. When I have a choice, my choice is that the Maltese become doctors, teachers and managers, and then I would bring in foreigners as those who go to work in the sun all day. If possible I don’t want Maltese people to go and pick up rubbish outside. All work is dignified, but I don’t want a situation where foreigners are comfortable and the Maltese break their backs.”

Delia then replied that the Prime Minister described that he wants to create a classist society, where the Maltese work one type of job and foreigners another type of job.

Asked for his reply to this by The Malta Independent today, Muscat said:  “What I said is clearly that if we start a discussion on our society where there is a political party that tries to sell the idea that there can be limits to the amounts of non-Maltese coming to Malta, then we have a clear image of where that leads us... we look at the debate in the UK.  Most of the foreigners coming to the Malta are Europeans and obviously there can be no limits to freedom of movement. “

“There can be checks when it comes to abuses of our social security systems and so on, but trying to say that there can be limits to freedom of movement since most are Europeans is a non sequitur.”

“I told the Leader of the Opposition that I prefer for Maltese to have higher paid jobs and I don’t think that is anything that has to do with classism,” Muscat said.