Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Opposition leader Joseph Muscat during the presentation of their party's electoral programme for the local council elections
Miriam Dalli
"If you want change, collect your voting document and vote for our candidates". This was the main message conveyed by the leaders of the two major political parties during their respective political activities.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this morning addressed the PN followers in Mosta - currently at the heart of a continuous argument between the two parties - while Labour leader Joseph Muscat addressed a politically activity in Qawra.
With just three weeks to go for the local council elections, both parties are at full speed with the political campaigning.
A current bone of contention between the two sides is the locality of Mosta. The PN repeatedly accuses Muscat of "allowing Mosta to degenerate for four years", while the PL accuses government "of doing too little, too late" to address issues such as housing estates.
The first controversy over Mosta sparked off a few months ago, after it was revealed that a number of PL councillors - including Mosta mayor Paul Chetcuti Caruana - were asked not to contest the local council elections on a Labour ticket.
The PN lost its traditional stronghold in Mosta during the last local council elections. Over the past few months, Muscat admitted that his councillors in Mosta had failed the residents.
In a bid to gain back the residents' trust, the PL has carried out a complete overhaul of its councillors in Mosta, bringing in new faces.
With Gonzi insisting that Muscat should shoulder responsibility for the failure in Mosta, and Muscat insisting that Gonzi is ignoring the social reality in Qawra, this morning's political speeches were closed off with one call: 'vote for our candidates'.
"I expect only one thing from the Nationalist candidates: integrity. The councillors must work for the families, the youths, the children, the elderly and the workers," Gonzi said.
"As Prime Minister and as the leader of the Nationalist Party, I will make sure that the councillors have all the support to carry out their duties if they gain the electorate's trust.
"But we depend on your vote to get there. You must vote for the PN candidates," Gonzi urged.
The PN leader added that this is the chance for the voters "to make a difference". "You can bring change with the correct choice. Pick up your voting document and on March 10 place your trust in the PN candidates," Gonzi said.
Muscat described March's elections as a chance for the disillusive to fight for change. He also urged voters in localities with a Labour majority to pick up their voting documents.
"This is your chance to make a difference. If you've lost trust in the local councils, the solution is to vote. Not voting is not the solution," Muscat said. "The vote is giving you the chance to choose between those who are comfortable with the status quo and those who believe in the new concept of local councils."