Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/829797
maltatoday, TUESDAY, 30 MAY 2017 7 News 'Joseph Muscat a true social democrat' – Swedish PM PAUL COCKS JOSEPH Muscat is a true social demo- crat and is constantly working to pro- vide jobs for people while at the same time ensuring society remains fair and just, according to Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven. Lofven recorded a video message – aired yesterday on One's Pjazza fi Pjazza – praising the work and suc- cess of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was present for the discussion pro- gramme in Birzebbugia. In his message, Lofven said that he had worked closely with Muscat on a num- ber of occasions and that he had come to realise that the Labour leader was a true social democrat and that he en- joyed working with him. "I appreciate and admire the work Jo- seph's government has done under the current Maltese presidency of the EU," he said. "Although Malta is a relatively small country, it is doing such a tremen- dous job." Muscat said that people needed to re- alise that there were very high stakes at play in Saturday's election, and they needed to come to terms with what they could lose if the Nationalist Party were returned to government. He said that the Labour Party's cam- paign was focusing on telling people what was at stake: the risks involved if the PN won the election and the possi- ble benefits of another Labour govern- ment, including the creation of more jobs, greater investment, more tourism and a better quality of life across the board. "People need to understand the chaos that could turn out to be a realistic sce- nario if the same people who created the country's problems were voted into power once again," he said. The improvements in the Cottonera were evidence of the work the govern- ment had carried out in the past four years, bringing huge investment to the area and pushing through an extensive embellishment undertaking. In Birzebbugia alone, the government shut down the oil tanks, built a football pitch, was building a ground, and made it clear the Malta Freeport should not encroach on the residential area. On comments made during Sunday's mass meeting by former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi – who noted Muscat's success in various sectors – Muscat said the success achieved was not his but of all those who had voted for the Labour Party in 2013. Muscat appealed to those who voted Labour for the first time four years ago. "We made some mistakes, true, but we did so much good," he said. "I am confident that, if we continue to work, if we all come together, if everyone continues to insist that people go and vote this Saturday, we will be able to prove that truly, the country's best days are yet to come." On energy, surplus and the minimum wage Former energy minister Konrad Mizzi said that the Labour govern- ment had delivered on all its electoral promises in the energy sector, includ- ing building a gas power plant, shut- ting down the Marsa power station, switching from heavy fuel oil to gas and reducing emissions. He said that, in a couple of months, the Marsa power station will have been completely dismantled. "The government is currently in discussions with the local council on how to embellish the area," he said. "The same will happen here in Birzebbugia where we have shut down the fuel tanks, addressing some major concerns of residents." John Bencini, chairperson of the Malta Council for Economic and So- cial Development, said he had wel- comed calls by the prime minister last year to raise the minimum wage. The Council, he said, immediately set upon debating the issue among all social partners, including employers and unions, until a unanimous con- sensus was reached. Desiree Cassar, a lawyer specialising in direct and indirect taxation, said that not only was it not true that fi- nancial services in Malta were hang- ing by a thread but – in fact – Malta has become an example of economic and financial success across the world. She recalled that the government's cautious and measured approach to public spending had resulted in a fi- nancial surplus, for the first time in decades, that had even surprised rat- ings agency Moody's. When Labour came to government, the country was facing excessive defi- cit procedures by the EU, which was overcome by June 2015. Moody's, Cassar said, had attributed the government's success in register- ing a surplus to a higher income from taxes – despite the lower taxation – higher profits registered by busi- nesses, higher family income and the income received through the IIP scheme," she said. Muscat warns Labour voters to expect retribution from PN government TIM DIACONO PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat warned traditional Labour vot- ers to expect "retribution" if the PN wins the election, as he made a last-ditch appeal in Birgu to get out the vote. "To our supporters who think that this government has for- gotten about you, irrespective of whether they have reason to feel aggrieved or not, I promise you that we will lend you an ear," he said. "The PN doesn't want to listen to you. All they care about is throwing me into prison and, if they win, then you can expect retribution because, in their minds, we have no right to lead the country." Muscat was given a hero's wel- come as he arrived in the PL stronghold, spending around half an hour signing autographs and taking selfies with PL sup- porters in the Birgu square. His speech focused on urging people to trust him to imple- ment the second part of his ten- year plan for Malta. "We were told that we couldn't reduce electricity bills, that we couldn't introduce free childcare, that our country wasn't ready for civil liberties, that there wasn't enough money for the first-time buyers' scheme," he told a politi- cal activity. "You can feel the dif- ference we made in your pockets and in your quality of life. How- ever, that was only the beginning and what we can do in our next term will surpass all of that. "We cannot stop halfway through our programme. That would be like a singer who stops singing halfway through a song or an athlete who stops running halfway through a race. It doesn't make sense." He reiterated some of his pledges, including to give back public holidays that fall on week- ends, to give a bonus of between €200-€340 to every worker, to increase pensions by €8 a week, and to repave every single road in the country. "I could speak about the wrongdoing of people who had taken commissions from set- tling a court case with the previ- ous government, who are being investigated for money launder- ing, and who have offshore com- panies," he said, referring to PN leader Simon Busuttil and PN deputy leaders Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario de Marco respectively. "However, what in- terests people most is the wealth that we will create and distribute to you." Muscat said that the Labour government had given dignity to residents of the south of Malta, after previous PN administra- tions had treated the region as a "rubbish dump" for projects. He added that distinctions between the north and south of Malta should be consigned to the his- tory books, arguing that Malta is too small for such divisions. He accused the "conservative forces" in Malta of doing every- thing possible to delay the mag- isterial inquiry into reports that his wife Michelle owns the off- shore Panama company Egrant, because they are scared that the truth will come out before the election. That comment was ostensibly a dig at The Malta Independ- ent's content editor Pierre Por- telli who yesterday appeared before magistrate Aaron Bugeja with inquiry extracts of a FIAU report into suspicions that min- ister Konrad Mizzi had taken kickbacks from the partial priva- tisation of Enemalta. Stefan Lofven