Muscat says Labour is ready to govern

Labour will show that it is prepared, serious and assured in the forthcoming budget, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said. He said Labour is a united team with youth and experience and which is ready to govern.

Muscat said "the future that unites us brings us here today and will also guarantee certainty when Labour is in government."

Addressing the party faithful in Pietà, he said a new Labour government will improve the quality of life for every single person.

"Creating a new middle class is the main aim of this movement," Muscat said as he explained that the creation of a new middle class will mean that persons will be raised out of poverty and help people who are already doing well do even better.

Muscat said that Labour will not have it easy when it is in government because it will inherit a country which was mismanaged for many years by Nationalist administrations.

"A vote for Labour, is not a mere vote of no-confidence in the current administration but is a vote of confidence in the certainty of change which we will bring. It will be a vote for the creation of a new middle class," Muscat said.

The Labour leader said he is receiving a lot of energy and good will from the party's grass roots, which he said have been suffering for the last 25 years.

"They have given me the confidence and energy to lead this movement. This energy increases when I see people around us who voted for GonziPN and who are genuine Nationalists. They have crossed over to us because they believe that we can bring change," Muscat said.

In the week in which US President Obama won re-election and revoked the message of hope and change in America, Muscat said that Labour's project will not end at the forthcoming election and promised meritocracy.

"It will only be the beginning, the beginning of hard work to give the country confidence in itself. We will make sure that job opportunities are available and it will not matter what your background, surname or provenance is. Jobs will be obtained on merit."

He insisted that Labour will bring certainty, not internal strife as the PN did in recent years. "We will be working everyday for the benefit of Maltese families.

He warned that the pre-electoral budget are generous but the post-election budget takes back whatever was granted the previous year, with interests and all. He added that in the European Commission autumn forecast, it is predicted that in 2013 prices will grow at a faster rate then wages, warning that families will find it harder to make ends meet then they already are.

Muscat blamed this on the government's bad policies, including the high utility bills. He said the report also reveals that if the Nationalist Party is re-elected there will be a further hike in the water and electricity tariffs.

He said this is a repeat of what happened in 2008, when in the pre-electoral budget, the utility bills were not increased however in the successive budget these were increased drastically.  

Speaking about the proposal of creating solar parks, cited by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Muscat said this only goes on to show that it is possible to reduce the energy tariffs.

Why did you suddenly realise this now? Why did you not invest in solar farms instead of the BWSC Delimara power plant extension? Why are you doing it just before elections?" Muscat asked.

PL deputy leader Anglu Farrugia was among the speaker who preceded Muscat's address. Farrugia said that the difference between Labour and the Nationalist Party is that while the Opposition is the party of the people, the PN is the party of cliques.

"Farces and tricks are the order of the day," Farrugia said to great applause of the party faithful in Pietà.

Farrugia said the Nationalist government must carry "the political responsibility for all the wrong decisions taken in the last years" and said when Labour is in power, everyone involved in decisions which were not taken in the country's best interest will be held responsible.

He said the country "needs Joseph Muscat" to resolve the problems afflicting the country.