Muscat insists position on migrant influx opposite to Slovak PM’s

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s position on migration is “opposite to that of the Slovakian Prime Minister” and Malta’s actions support this, a spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister has told MaltaToday.

Muscat has been quoted by Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, as having said that Muslim people “are changing the character of the country”.

According to Euractiv, in an interview last week, Fico said: “It may seem strange, but sorry, Islam has no place in Slovakia. I have talked about this several times with the Maltese prime minister, who told me that the problem is not that they were coming, but they are changing the character of the country.”

Fico, re-elected to power in March, was described by Euractiv as having developed “a strong anti-Islamic rhetoric” and that his latest comments have caused “widespread indignation”.

Muscat, whose party fielded Muslim candidate Mario Farrugia Borg for the 2013 elections, has however distanced himself from the Slovak’s comments.

“The Prime Minister’s position is publicly known and it is opposite to that of the Slovakian Prime Minister, as Malta’s actions and policies clearly show, including being one of the few member states to participate actively in the relocation mechanism,” the OPM said.

“In Council, the Prime Minister’s position and that of the Italian Prime Minister was always consistent. Malta sympathises with the fact that mass influx leads to challenges for host populations, as we have experienced ourselves.

“Progressive parties must acknowledge this fact and not sideline those parts of the population, including our traditional base, who feel forgotten by mainstream parties and then turn to extremists.”

On the eve of this year’s Freedom Day, Muscat called on the Maltese to change their attitudes towards migrants and warned that failure to integrate migrant workers could push them towards extremism.

In his speech, Muscat had referred to the attacks in Paris and Brussels and questioned what went through young people who suddenly become suicide bombers: “We are partially at fault here. We have created a system that isolates people and minorities in ghettoes. This is absolute hypocrisy. We are preaching inclusion but leaving minorities feeling they are still foreigners in their own country.”