Labour leader denies deal with companies interested in future power station

The campaign's first weekend was marked by Labour leader Joseph Muscat doing a 'patriotic' roadshow, laying wreaths at national monuments where he had time to rub shoulders with Labour voters.

Muscat's comprehensive energy has earned the tag of being a 'gimmick' by the Nationalists, but isn't this solemn tour of national monuments risking becoming a bit too gimmicky?

Not so, Muscat told the press at the end of the tour of the Sette Giugnio, Freedom Day, Independence, Republic and Victory monuments: "All these monuments represent events that made us Maltese, and as Maltese we have a duty to respect these days," Muscat said.

As expected, energy remained on the agenda in questions put to him b the press, where Muscat was asked whether he was comfortable allowing one private company to be responsible for 40% of Malta's provision of energy through the construction of a gas terminal and a 10-year supply of gas

"It's the context that's the most important thing. We started off with a government changing its stand on energy - a significant shift in position from saying our plan was impossible to now being committed to reduce tariffs.

"What we're proposing is based on an energy mix that includes the BWSC turbine, the new gas unit, the interconnector and a standby facility running on gasoil. Today we are fully dependent on heavy fuel oil."

Muscat said that government's consideration for a second interconnector "defeats the criticism" that Labour was trying to 'over-invest' in more energy.

"Government should now publish its study on the gas pipeline, which as things stand today, has not yet had a tender published."

Muscat said a number of companies, both Maltese and foreign, had already expressed interest with Labour since it announced its plans for a new 200MW power station.

Muscat said it would not be prudent for him to reveal the names of the companies, and that no deal had been struck with any of these companies and the PL.

The Labour leader was also quizzed on today's BirdLife campaign, which depicted both leaders with a hunter's shotgun to their head, in an accusation of appeasement of the hunting lobby. "I haven't seen it yet," Muscat said. "But there are European regulations the country has to follow, yet Maltese hunters should not have less than European counterparts."