Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/820914
maltatoday, MONDAY, 8 MAY 2017 7 News PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES BIANCHI We are safeguarding fundamental principles – Simon Busuttil PN leader Simon Busuttil insisted yesterday in Balzan that the upcoming election is not a competition between proposals listed in party manifestos, but rather about safeguarding fundamental principles TIM DIACONO DELIVERING a passionate speech in front of thousands of people at a mass meeting in Balzan, the PN's first since the Prime Minister announced a snap election last week, Busuttil said that eliminating corruption is ultimately more important than coming up with manifesto proposals. "A party's manifesto proposals are like the rooms inside a house, but I am speaking here about the house's foun- dations, without which the house will crumble," he said. "Joseph Muscat has built a castle on sand which is why he has called an early election. "As of tomorrow, the PN will con- tinue building on our proposals and release new ones too, but this election is not a competition between propos- als but an election about principles. "Every party is able to come up with proposals and promise everything to everyone, but no proposal stands up to the most sacred and fundamen- tal principle of honesty. Honesty is a principle that we can promise and Jo- seph Muscat cannot." Busuttil accused the Labour govern- ment of embarking on an "enormous campaign" to buy votes by dishing out jobs and promotions and giving financial compensation to police of- ficers and pensioners. "I urge these people to take every- thing that is theirs by right, and I assure them that they will continue enjoying it under a PN government," he said. "We are certain that none of you will sell this country out because the government has given you what is yours by right at the last second." Former Prime Minister and Presi- dent Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami was present at the mass meeting, while former Alternattiva Demokra- tika chairperson Michael Briguglio was given a seat behind the PN leader on stage. In his speech, Busuttil lambasted the police commissioner, the Attor- ney General and the MFSA for not taking action on a damning report by the Financial Intelligence Analy- sis Unit that reportedly found "rea- sonable suspicion" that OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna were involved in money laundering or the proceeds of crime related to kick- backs from the sale of passports. He reiterated that a PN government would instantly replace police com- missioner Laurence Cutajar, that the heads of authorities would only be appointed by a two-thirds major- ity in Parliament, and that ministers would be held to strict ethical stand- ards. Moreover, he pledged that the PN would ensure that the economy gives opportunities to everyone, so that people would no longer have to beg politicians for jobs. It will also boost investment in education, health, sports, infrastructure, roads, and the environment. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," he said, a line that Franklin D. Roosevelt had famously used in his inaugural address as US President. "We don't have millions of euros to spend to erect billboards on every corner like Joseph Muscat does, but we have something better than mon- ey, which is righteousness," he said. "We know that we are in the right, and we know that righteousness will triumph." 'Thieves are friends of the dark' One of the speakers was lawyer Bernard Grech, who warned of "an organised web" of people who try to undermine critics of the Labour gov- ernment through social media and intimidating phone calls He also accused Labour MPs of reneging on their oaths to defend Malta, by choosing instead to defend the Prime Minister and his "corrupt clique". "Thieves work in the dark, they are friends of the dark, and rely on friends of the dark. Thieves try to hide the proof and go as far as wear- ing gloves to conceal their finger- prints," he said. They lie to you, look into your eyes and tell you they are serene and innocent. However, once the lights are switched on and the police sirens start blaring, the thief gets confused and runs away." Grech said the time is ripe for Constitutional change, including strengthening the courts, "giving a new meaning" to the Office of the President, and removing political inf luence from PBS, the Department of Information and the Broadcasting Authority once and for all. Actress Pia Zammit, known for her impressions of Michelle Muscat at the Comedy Knights show, was also given a platform. She accused the Labour govern- ment of lying to the people, and warned it is being led by the Azer- baijan dictatorship. "I choose integrity, I choose hones- ty, I choose Malta, and if you tell me u ejja, I will tell you mela," she said, a reference to one of her Comedy Knights catchphrases. Simon Busuttil and his partner Kristina Chetcuti at the PN mass meeting in Balzan