Updated | PN lambasts Muscat’s ‘blatant hypocrisy’ as fuel prices rise

The Nationalist Party has accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of taking people for fools in the wake of a surprise announcement on Tuesday night that fuel prices will rise by 4c as of today.

Unleaded petrol now costs €1.31 per litre, while diesel and kerosene costs €1.18 per litre, and ePower fuel costs €1.46 per litre. The prices will remain at this fixed rate until the end of March. De facto energy minister Konrad Mizzi said that the cost hike was due to the fact that crude oil has slightly risen in recent months - from $48 in September to around $54 last month.

However, shadow energy minister Marthese Portelli noted that petrol costs the same now (€1.31 per litre) as it did back in 2011, when Muscat – then Opposition leader – had called a national protest against the fuel prices. However, back then the international price of oil was close to $100 a barrel while it is now $52 a barrel.

Joseph Muscat's call for arms in 2011 over fuel prices

“The government claims to have a policy on stability where fuel prices are concerned, but in reality it only keeps prices stable when the international market price for oil is rock bottom, but then increases astronomically when oil prices rise slightly,” she told a press conference at the PN’s Pieta headquarters.

READ MORE: Fuel prices rise by 4c due to hike in international oil price

She added that it was ironic that Konrad Mizzi had recently posted a promotional calendar to his constituents in which the month of January came with the slogan “Cheaper and stable fuel prices”.

Portelli said that the PN ‘s policy is to reduce fuel prices when the international price of oil is rock bottom, but was coy when asked by MaltaToday whether this means that fuel prices will rise if the crude oil market shifts upwards. 

“Our policy is that we want consumers to be given the best deal, meaning that if oil is rock bottom – as it has been for the past two years – then fuel prices should decrease. Under a PN administration, petrol cost €1.31 when oil cost $100 a barrel, and now it costs the same when oil costs almost half that amount. That is clear proof that fuel prices under a PN government will not be higher than they are under a Labour government.”

Minister Konrad Mizzi finds himself at the centre of another controversy

When asked whether the PN will return to its old policy of monthly fluctuations in fuel prices according to the global oil market, she responded: “Not necessarily”.

“If oil goes down for a week or a month, then that’s one thing, but if it remains low for years on end then fuel prices should obviously go down.”

‘Cost of living increase has been snatched from the public’ - PD

The newly-fledged Democratic Party (PD) also got in on the act, accusing the government of snatching the €1.75 weekly cost of living adjustment back from the public before they could even start benefitting from it.

“When the international price of oil hit rock bottom, the government held back from reducing fuel prices on the pretext that it wanted to keep prices stable,” the PD said in a statement. “However, as soon as oil slightly rose, the government quickly increased the burden on our households and businesses.

“While the public understands that the government has no control over the volatility in the global oil market, it also understands that the government has harmed the energy sector when it bound its fortunes to a private company [ElectroGas] which is composed of members of the ‘minibar’ who have exclusive access to the open bar of Malta’s public coffers.”

The PD urged Muscat to organise a press conference to explain this latest rise in fuel prices as he had in 2014 when fuel prices decreased by 2c. 

‘PN’s policy will see electricity prices rise’ – Labour

The Labour Party claimed that the PN’s policy to shift fuel prices according to fluctuations in the global oil market would guarantee increases in electricity and water tariffs.

“The PN is incompetent in the energy sector, and their policies when in government had cost Maltese families hundreds of millions of euro. Yet it is clear that Simon Busuttil wants to turn the clock back,” it said in a statement.

It also noted that petrol is now 20c cheaper and diesel 22c cheaper than they were when Labour took the keys of government in March 2013.

“In contrast, petrol increased by 39c and diesel by 36c between the start and closure of the previous PN administration, while electricity bills increased by 71%.”