Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/299616
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 APRIL 2014 7 News 'Government is betraying everyone apart from Labour insiders' – Busuttil In a clear pitch for traditional PN voters and disgruntled Labour voters, Simon Busuttil urged everyone to "go out and vote" and send a clear message to government JURGEN BALZAN THE government is betraying the people, apart from Labour insid- ers, PN leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday. Addressing party supporters dur- ing an debate in Mosta, the PN leader said that government's nepo- tism, lack of ideas in job creation and an endless list of broken prom- ises, including in the health sector, had not only betrayed the people but also its own electoral mantra 'Malta for all.' "This is not an easy campaign for us. Coming 12 months after the general election loss, it's not all plain sailing given the lack of re- sources and finances. However, we have a big heart. We will never give up whatever we are faced with. We are authentic and we sincerely want to serve the people," Busuttil said. "We have always toiled for a bet- ter Malta and we'll continue doing so wholeheartedly despite being in opposition," Busuttil said, adding that following the 2013 electoral loss the PN successfully embarked on a mission to become a "united and effective" opposition. Entering its second day of cam- paigning, the PN held an open air debate in the shadow of the impos- ing Mosta Dome, with former min- ister and European Commissioner Joe Borg, MP Clyde Puli, pharma- cist Denise Ellul and economist Malcolm Bray among the guests who addressed the crowd. The PN leader reiterated that, "af- ter 12 months of a Labour govern- ment, Malta deserves better". Not- ing Ellul's comments on the lack of medicines in the health sector, the Opposition leader said that govern- ment was "distributing medicines according to political allegiances". Describing this as "scandalous," Busuttil said that "government should be ashamed" for not only discriminating against Nationalists but "also discriminating against Labourites who are not Labour in- siders". In a clear pitch to both traditional Nationalist supporters and disgrun- tled Labourites, Busuttil said, "in these elections you can send a mes- sage to this government, including on this matter. It is unacceptable to have a party who was elected on the promise of 'Malta for all' discrimi- nating against anyone who is not part of the Labour core". Busuttil also made a passionate plea to voters who are pondering whether they should vote on 24 May, saying "who does not vote would be allowing others to decide for you, if you want to send a mes- sage to government, do it directly and go out and vote". Former PN minister and Euro- pean Commissioner Joe Borg, who signed and sealed Malta's EU ac- cession in 2004, urged the party's candidates to "remind the people" of the social, economic and envi- ronmental benefits EU member- ship brought. Addressing the party faithful, MP Clyde Puli described Labour's pre- electoral mantra 'Malta for all' as the " joke of the year," insisting that meritocracy was thrown out of the window. Puli said the Labour administra- tion was running the country as though it was a "family business" with ministers and high-ranking government and party officials engaging their own relatives in a number of government posts. Economist Malcolm Bray said the trend in unemployment figures was of concern because the country's productivity was being dented, es- pecially by a growing number of jobs created in the public sector. Prime Minister wants to live in a 'liberal Malta' MIRIAM DALLI PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat wants to live in a liberal country where the state doesn't interfere in how individuals live their lives. Ending the second day of EP elections campaigning with an interview on One TV, Muscat said the decriminalisation of drugs will be the government's next priority. "I've had enough of watching youths end up in prison instead of being helped to get over their ad- dictions. Drug dealers should be punished," he added. The Labour leader said the gov- ernment would not reinvent the wheel and there were interna- tional best practices that would be followed. "We have informally consulted and discussed the issue with in- dividuals and organisations who work with victims of drug abuse and those who, like Caritas, help with their rehabilitation," he said. Muscat added that these or- ganisations had long called for the decriminalisation of certain drugs "but others feared imple- mented it". After dominating the day's headlines, Muscat was once again asked about abortion. He reiter- ated that the government was against legalising abortion. "I'm not at all surprised that the Opposition has played the abor- tion card, something it always does during every election... but it also reassures me that the Oppo- sition have nothing better to talk about." In a clear attempt to address the Labour grassroots, Muscat said the government would give people what they are owed. "Justice was done with many; others are still waiting. Every case will be addressed. It doesn't mean that everyone would be right in their complaint. But we will analyse every individual case." Muscat said he understood how waiting another year would seem too much after waiting 25 years. He acknowledged that Labour supporters felt "hurt" at how in- dividuals thrived under both the PN and Labour administrations: "In reality, this dispels the Oppo- sition's claims that only Labour supporters were thriving." He urged the supporters to consider and judge whether Mal- ta was better off a year after La- bour was elected to power. Lauding the "strong group of candidates" Labour was putting forward, Muscat insisted that being in government did not place the party at an advantage. Italy rescues 1,000 migrants amid anger over op costs ITALY has rescued over 1,000 mi- grants over the past 48 hours, the navy said today, amid rising criti- cism from the political right over the high cost of the operation. The 'Mare Nostrum' (Our Sea) operation, launched last October, plucks people from f loundering vessels in the Mediterranean al- most daily, at a cost of €9 milliona month according to Italian media reports. "This expensive and maniacal operation must be immediately stopped," said Maurizio Gasparri from the centre-right Forza Italia party, describing Mare Nostrum as "a taxi... with people smugglers alerting the Italian navy, which then brings in endless numbers of illegal immigrants". The government has warned that the landings are set to increase, estimating this month that up to 600,000 migrants from Africa and the Middle East are ready to set off from Libyan shores. Matteo Salvini, head of the anti- immigration Northern League party, has also called for the opera- tion to be scrapped, saying "Italian citizens end up financing the people smugglers and an invasion of our coasts". The arrival in Sicily yester- day of 321 migrants, including 62 women and five children, brought the number of people saved over the past 48 hours to 1,149 according to the navy, which did not specify their nationalities. Close to 22,000 migrants and asy- lum seekers have arrived on Italy since the start of the year, 10 times the number in the same period in 2013. On average, five military ships and 900 sailors take part weekly in the rescue operation. Immigration charities estimate between 17,000 and 20,000 mi- grants have died at sea while trying to reach Europe in the past 20 years, but fighting the phenomenon from both Africa and Europe has proved difficult. Last week, Italy joined six other European Mediterranean nations in calling on the EU to boost financial support for those bearing the brunt of the inf lux of African migrants in search of a better life. Migratory pressure pushing across the Mediterranean "is far from diminishing, it is increasing," said foreign ministers from Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Por- tugal and Spain after an informal meeting in the Spanish port of Ali- cante. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil addressing supporters in Mosta: "This is not an easy campaign for us"