'Strength to the Maltese' – PL launches MEP campaign

At the closing of the Labour Party’s General Council on Sunday, Prime Minister Robert Abela launched the party’s MEP election campaign, calling on voters to unite under the government.

“Will we turn the clock backwards, or will we keep moving forward,” Abela asked the crowd at the party’s Headquarters in Ħamrun.

Describing it as a “unique country”, Prime Minister Robert Abela explained that Malta’s beauty and excellence are only possible through hard work and continuous investments in the population.

“There is more work to do to create a clean country, and we are doing it… but Malta is a country where a person can start a career, where they can love the people they want,” Abela said, referencing the Labour Party’s efforts to introduce LGBT rights and divorce.

At no point should the Maltese population bear an unbearable weight upon their shoulders, he continued, as the government continues to seek to carry the country forward and further strengthen it.

Even during the pandemic, global unrest, and economic struggles, the government never left the people’s side, making sure that prices remained fair and that the population remained the country’s focus, he said.

However, Abela clarified that challenges keep popping up and will continue to pop up, yet there will be no challenge that the party cannot face.

“Facing forward, I will always defend my country because, for me, my country comes first and before everything else,” Abela said to a standing ovation, naming “the Establishment” as one of the country’s greatest adversaries against equality and the working class.

“Above everything else, we need to invest in the quality of life, a quality of life where everyone has an open space only a few minutes away from their house within their locality.”

The upcoming elections on June 8 will decide whether the country will continue to grow, Abela emphasised.

“Will we turn to the clock backwards, or will we keep moving forward?”

‘The choice is Labour’

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s speech, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne rallied the crowd with a cry on the importance of the upcoming MEP and local council elections.

“The world is big and beautiful… but there is nowhere more beautiful than Malta,” Fearne said, comparing the country to landmark capitals like Rome and Paris.

“We need to take care of our country. We need to pay attention to ensure things are run properly… which is why the upcoming elections are important.”

Although there is beauty in winning, Fearne emphasised that elections are more than simply supporting a party like a football team as they will change the course of a country’s future.

To make that decision, one only needs to look at what one party promises over another, he continued, looking at the past decade as proof of the government’s achievements. Whether it was tackling COVID or poverty, the accomplishments of a Labour government are incomparable to those of a Nationalist one, Fearne said.

Even in controversial areas such as abortion, Labour is willing to take the first step to protect a mother’s life and health, he said.

Fearne explained that even within the European Parliament, there is a clear distinction between the two parties. While the Labour Party is focused on socialist decisions such as affordable medicines and peace in war-torn countries, the other side seeks to supply arms at the cost of the Maltese public.

“The choice is between what we have done, and what others have not,” Fearne hammered home.

“The choice is clear. The choice is Labour.”