Muscat: ‘I won’t take lessons in standards’ from the PN

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told the House in a debate on the confidence motion against his government, that he invited democratic scrutiny but that he would not be lectured by the Nationalist opposition on political standards.

“We accept this scrutiny, but our duty is to keep working in the next two years to show that this Malta is truly everybody’s,” he said, saying the Opposition was eager to throw punches at the government without truly proposing any plans as an alternative government.

He kicked off his address with a mirthful tone, thanking the Opposition for giving the opportunity to each minister to extol his Top of Form

Bottom of Form

administration’s virtues.

“The truth is that nobody from the Opposition has proposed anything an alternative PN government would do in power… the only strategy this Opposition has is to do nothing, so as not to commit any mistake. It’s easy to do nothing, but who will pay for reduced utility bills, higher pensions, free childcare, and who will give people the right to enter into a civil union.

“We could have done as our predecessors did, let things just pass, and witness poverty rates doubling. Today we see that poverty has been reduced… The fact is that ‘doing nothing’ is a cost to the middle class and workers.”

He criticized the Opposition over what he called a ‘rent-a-mob’ mentality, citing the defamation charges filed against Jason Azzopardi, the Nationalist MP and the media circus it prompted as Azzopardi made his way to court.

While Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called out the Opposition over having done nothing on the Enemalta oil scandal, Nationalist MPs shout back at the PM as he chided them over “having done nothing to fight corruption.”

“I won’t take any lessons on political standards from people like Tonio Fenech, whose private secretary had admitted taking bribes from JPM Brothers during political fund-raising; or Claudio Grech, who negotiated the sale of land for Smart City and then securing himself a position as Smart City Malta CEO.”