Muscat eyeing majority of votes in European elections

Labour has set its sights on winning a majority of votes in the 24 May European elections, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.

Speaking during the launch of Labour candidate Mario Farrugia Borg's campaign, Muscat pointed out that in the previous two European Parliament elections, the party in government had come out on the losing end.

Describing Labour for the umpteenth time as the "underdog," Muscat said "our challenge is to become the first party in government to win the majority of votes in a European election."

Interestingly, Muscat has set his sights on retaining a majority of votes in the May elections, but not on retaining the majority of seats.

In the two previous elections, Labour emerged victorious, earning three out of the five seats available. In the last round, Labour elected a sixth MEP after the Lisbon Treaty increased Malta's allocation of seats. Based on the 2009 European Parliament election results, the PN has as good a chance of winning three seats as Labour has of retaining four seats. In 2009, the election result was worked out on five seats, while next year's election will be worked out on six.

In his brief address, Muscat said the major difference between Labour and the Nationalist Party lay in the Opposition's insistence in tarnishing the country's reputation over the controversial citizenship scheme. This contrasted with Labour's belief in a united country, Muscat said, adding that "whatever some may say" Labour was honouring the 'Malta for all' electoral slogan.

Thanking Farrugia Borg for accepting the electoral "challenge" put to him, Muscat described the Muslim convert's candidature as "historic."

Despite facing harsh criticism for his government's hawkish stand on migration, Muscat said that Farrugia Borg's candidature symbolised Labour's readiness to "embrace diversity" and said that in the coming years Malta will change even further.

"This is what differentiates Labour from others. We must not put up any walls, but we must open up and welcome new people while ensuring that the country's identity is strengthened."

On his part, Farrugia Borg underlined his belief in social justice and said that he would do his utmost to place the vulnerable at the top of the European agenda if elected to Brussels.

Describing himself as a social-democrat, Farrugia Borg stressed that he backed Muscat's efforts to attract attention over migration and said "I take pride in his efforts because in a short period he has done much more than his predecessors."

Insisting that he was not a racist or xenophobe, Farrugia Borg added that the EU was "obliged" to help Malta face the challenges posed by migration. "This alone is reason enough to vote for Labour candidates in May," he said.