Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1045682
DAVID HUDSON THE Opposition leader was playing a very 'dangerous political game' in us- ing far-right rhetoric and racist under- tones when addressing the issue of for- eign workers in Malta, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday. Muscat, who was giving his reaction to the leader of the Opposition's reply to the Budget, called on Adrian Delia to explain what he meant by 'intelli- gent immigration'. "Does he only want rich immigrants?" he asked. "Then why did the Opposi- tion come out against the [Individual Investment Programme] scheme?" The Opposition, he said, was using anti-business rhetoric, whereas the government did not make any distinc- tion between being pro-business and pro-worker. Muscat started his address by firing off statistics which – he said – made the 2019 Budget the financial package of "no tricks, just treats." "16,500 individuals are going to see an increase in their children's allow- ance. That's a €2 million allocation to these people," he said. "92,000 pensioners will enjoy an in- crease in their pensions. That's a €10 million allocation to these people. 200,000 part-time and full-time work- ers will be getting back a tax refund. The parents of 26,000 children will save €700 each on school transport." How far to the right was Delia's Budget speech? WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post EDITORIAL • PAGE 9 WEDNESDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2018 • ISSUE 610 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Lawyer hits back at court censure over Liam Debono article ANALYSIS MATTHEW AGIUS LAWYER Joseph Ellis has replied to crit- icism aimed at his article in sister paper Illum in which he had hit out at the de- cision to prevent discussion programme Xarabank from airing an interview with Liam Debono, who is accused of inten- tionally running over and maiming a policeman. During Monday's sitting, Lawyer Fran- co Debono exhibited an article written by lawyer Ellis which was published in the newspaper Illum the day before. The article made Liam Debono out to be guilty without a chance of acquittal, Debono said. The court, after reading the article, ordered that a communication be sent to the AG, and Ellis to reply to the com- plaint raised by the defence within 24 hours. The court reserved the right to decree after the replies are received. It made it clear that because in the article, the author was contesting a decision tak- en by the court, it will refer the case to the Commission for the Administration of Justice "to investigate and decide if necessary." In an impassioned speech, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat attacked the Opposition leader's attempt to blame foreign workers for perceived fi nancial and logistical fallouts Muscat accuses Delia of pandering to extreme right PAGE 3 PAGE 2 PAGE 6 PHOTO BY JAMES BIANCHI