Muscat hits out at Stellini, says classist mentality no longer has a place in Malta

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says Opposition has no clear message, hits out at Stellini for calling Maltese valueless 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has hit out at Nationalist MP David Stellini for calling Maltese valueless compared to their European counterparts.

Addressing party faithful at the Labour Party club in San Gwann today, Muscat referred to an interview conducted earlier this week on Xtra, hosted by Saviour Balzan, where Stellini, asked why the Labour Party still enjoyed such a comfortable majority, said this was because the Maltese prioritised profit over values.

According to Muscat, Stellini exposed the Nationalist Party’s classist mentality.

“This classist view by the PN of separating the haves from the have nots needs to stop as it no longer has a place in this country,” Muscat said.

He said the government will keep on working to give more opportunities to hard-working Maltese families in the hope that the next generation is even more successful than the current one.

The opposition, Muscat remarked, was not using its luxury of having the time to think things out and form a clear message, but instead keept getting caught-up in simple issues.

Muscat referred to the way Opposition leader Adrian Delia handled the situation on medical cannabis being grown in Malta.

“At first, he accused us of building drug factories, and then in Parliament he came out and said that he agrees with our proposition,” Muscat said.

He added that three companies had already signed letters of intent to begin working on the island once the bill is approved in Parliament.

He said that these three companies will invest €7 million and create around 120 new jobs once they were fully functional.

Speaking about the new credit rating given to Malta by Moody’s and DBRS, Muscat said that these were certificates of approval that could be seen by investors prior to their investing in Malta.

“Investors do not care what the government or the Opposition say - once they look at our credit rating they will know that it is safe and profitable to invest in Malta,” Muscat said, adding that the new ratings put Malta on the same level of Ireland, and even higher than a super-power like Japan.

Referring to the Whitepaper than was released by the government on the rental situation, Muscat said that instead of taxing individuals who had vacant property, the government will be proposing that €25,000 be given to those who wanted to restore and put up their property for rent.

“We want to find a balance between landowners who want to rent their properties, and tenants who cannot afford to have their rent doubled in the blink of an eye.”

The PM also made reference to the seven year road plan that according to him will be starting soon.

Muscat praised Maltese families for their industrious attitude and insisted that government needs to keep on motivating such families even further.

“We are seeing the fruits of what happens when a hard-working country has a hard-working government,” he said, as he terminated his address.