Marlene Farrugia: ‘Only Forza Nazzjonali can save hunting and trapping’

Partit Demokratiku leader Marlene Farrugia countered accusations by the Labour Party that she is against trapping and hunting, telling a mass meeting in Rabat, Gozo that only a ‘Forza Nazzjonali’ victory can safeguard the practices.

“Only the Forza Nazzjonali can safeguard hunting and trapping,” she said. “I am myself the daughter of a trapper, the spring hunting issue was closed once and for all with the referendum, and only the Forza Nazzjonali can pledge to safeguard the countryside so you will continue to be able to hunt and trap.”

 She also rubbished Labour’s warnings that a PN-PD coalition will lead to instability, arguing that the Labour Party has failed to lead a stable government

“They’re only telling you this because they are seeing a man and a woman leading together,” she said. “What’s the matter? Don’t they believe in gender equality?”

Farrugia told thousands of supporters who gathered in Republic Street, Rabat that the choice is ultimately between the ‘Forza Nazzjonali’ that built up several Maltese assets and the ‘Panama Gang’ that sold them off.

“The Forza Nazzjonali built a five-star hospital in Gozo and a power station in Malta and got us EU citizenship, but the PanamaGang sold them off.”

‘Muscat betrayed Gozitans’ – Fenech Adami

PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami accused Joseph Muscat of betraying the Gozitan people, telling a mass meeting in Rabat that the Prime Minister had promised them heaven on earth so as to steal their votes.

“He promised you a casino, a yacht marina, a cruise liner terminal, a fast-ferry servive, and a tunnel to Malta, but instead all we saw was [Gozo minister] Anton Refalo opening a public toilet,” he said.

In particular, he lashed out at the privatisation of the Gozo hospital to Vitals Global Healthcare, warning that Muscat sold the only public hospital on the island to “a gang of thieves”.

“He promised investment in the hospital but instead sold it behind your backs to thieves like him so that he, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri could take commissions off the public’s backs.”

‘We will do more for Gozo than past PN governments’ – de Marco

Fellow PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said that his party held its mass meeting “with a sense of humility”, admitting that previous Nationalist governmnets could have done more to help Gozitans.

He pledged that the PN will stick by its specific manifesto for Gozo, which he said was drafted by Gozitans for Gozitans and will open up new opportunities for youths.

“We want to fulfill the dreams of many Gozitans for Gozo to have regional autonomy to take decisions that impact the island, for a tunnel to be built between Malta and Gozo, and to end the brain-drain from Gozo to Malta.

“We won’t be like Muscat and his friends who promised several projects for Gozo but accomplished none of them,” he said. “They did nothing because they were too busy opening companies in Panama and bank accounts in Dubai and taking commissions through the sale of our passports. Now Muscat has the gall to say that he has the experience to lead the country for the next five years.”