Muscat, ‘Prime Minister holding country hostage for tactical gain’

Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was trying to gain as much time as possible before calling a general election, in a bid to gain a tactical advantage by dishing out favours and planning permits and employ his power of incumbency.

"He's making a strategic mistake by alienating a section of the electorate for a small advantage, but I see it as a blot on the history of the Nationalist Party," said Muscat, whose party moved a no-confidence motion that was defeated Thursday by the Speaker's casting vote.

He was answering questions by MaltaToday journalist Karl Stagno-Navarra in an interview on Labour radio Super One.

"The press and columnists today agreed that only early elections are his only option," Muscat said of Gonzi, whose backbencher Franco Debono refused to support the no-confidence motion but abstained, leaving the Nationalist government on life support.

Muscat claimed it would be in Labour's interest to have elections as late as possible. "This government is going wrong all the way anyway. It is led by a prime minister with yesteryear policies, who thinks he'll dupe the people again with last-minute favours and planning permits.

"He is burning bridges with the discerning voter. They won't left him fool them again," Muscat said.

Lawrence Gonzi yesterday indicated he will seek the support of his party through "internal initiatives" as the Nationalist Party convenes its general council on Sunday.

"I saw that as the prime minister's Freudian slip, conscious as he is that the party is not entirely behind him," Muscat said.

"But he is dedicating time to find a solution he thinks is just a party issue.  In reality, he is keeping the country hostage when he knows the writing is on the wall."

Muscat defended his position to "speak as one voice" on a motion that his deputy leader Anglu Farrugia proposed, one of the major criticisms of the PN against the motion.

Muscat also insisted that the 34-34 tie in parliament, only tipped in favour of government thanks to the Speaker's casting vote, meant Gonzi had lost his majority.

"Today he has 34 votes. I have not said the Opposition has a majority, but the prime minister clearly does not have the majority of MPs.

"He has failed the parameters he set for himself: a clear result with no room for interpretation, clear enough to take him to the end of his legislature, and with no conditions attached. By his own yardstick, he has no choice but to go for early elections.

"The prime minister has been asking Franco Debono to resign. So in any normal democracy, he would seek a vote of confidence. He didn't take this step so I stepped up so that the people could know where this government stands. It was our constitutional obligation to present it."

Muscat replied to criticism that he was prompting early elections at a critical moment in the country's economy: "At that rate, we would have to postpone next year's general election if the recession worsens. We cannot afford instability and the only long-term solution are early elections."

Muscat was pressed on his closely guarded electoral manifesto, to which the Opposition leader said it was useless making pledges all throughout a legislature. "I can say that it will be a manifesto that will be updated for the realities of today," Muscat said.

The Opposition leader reiterated his stance that a future Labour cabinet will be paid the pre-2008 salaries which were increased without any official announcement by the government.

He also denied having any plans to rationalise university stipends. "They will be strengthened," Muscat said, and said past claims by Labour MEP Edward Scicluna to cut down on the inefficiency of the €25 million stipend bill were made in his role as an economist. "Now that he is a member of the Labour party, his considerations cannot just be those of an observer, but of a policymaker who must see the wider consequences of policies."

Muscat expressed agreement with reforms mentioned by Franco Debono in his parliamentary speeches. "They are not his reforms only, but of anybody of good sense."

But asked why his no-confidence motion did not list any reason why MPs had to vote against the government, Muscat said the motion was there to "serenade Debono's reforms".

"It was there to list government's failures. From day one of my leadership our shadow justice and home affairs portfolios have been separate, and we were active members on the Galdes commission for party financing reform..."

Muscat was more guarded about pushing for electoral reform, saying he felt regulation in broadcasting and the press were more important. "One important reform is whether the Broadcasting Authority should be directed by party representatives."

He also supported an updating of the Constitution through a constituent assembly, but defended the Opposition's walk-out from the parliamentary select committee for democracy. "The Nationalists' lied about Justyne Caruana's vote," Muscat said of the parliamentary incident that provoked the walkout. "Constitutional reform should be conducted by a wider section of the public."

Muscat said he supported party financing reforms, but shied from expressing agreement with the private member's bill moved by Franco Debono.

"There are more bills to be discussed before that... let's see how parliament will work from now on, since business is being tailored to government's needs. Parliament is usually convened even when the prime minister and the ministers are abroad; but next Monday it will be the first time parliament is not convened because the prime minister is abroad. And that's a clear symptom of his loss of majority."