Muscat calls on ‘soldiers of steel’ to bring out the vote

It might be coming on to 15 months since the fervour of the last general election, but the atmosphere in Bormla this afternoon certainly had all the remnants of a pre-electoral mass meeting. Hundreds of Labour faithful defied the early signs of summer’s sweltering heat to attend the Labour Party’s mass meeting, to commemorate International Workers’ Day.

Performances by local artists Lawrence Gray and Glen Vella were first on the agenda, with Black Eyed Peas’ Tonight’s Gonna be a Good Night never failing to be a hit for the crowd. The music set the scene but it was party leader and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat whom the crowd were there to see.

And at 5.15pm Muscat did arrive to the cries of ‘Joseph, Joseph, Joseph’ from the crowd that he later dubbed “soldiers of steel”.

But today’s speech was clearly intended at shoring the vote for the next European elections, with Muscat urging people to vote for the Labour candidates at the MEP elections and to make sure they convince “at least one other person” to do the same.

“This is the moment of truth,” he bellowed. “Your vote will make it clear whether you believe who took you for a ride, and who didn’t.”

Muscat was clearly angling for voters who are planning to stay at home. Aiming at being the first prime minister since 2004 to win a majority in the European elections, any majority will be compared to his 2013 election vote.

“It is an election that will confirm that we are going down the right path,” he said, calling on the crowd to make sure to bring out the vote. “This government might not be perfect but you know full well that it has a great positive energy,” he said, echoing Labour’s electoral slogan in 2014. “It is your job now to give us the courage to keep going.”

In truth, the focus was not on the European elections but on the government’s first year’s performance, something echoed even in the Nationalist Party’s own message throughout the campaign.

Muscat also announced that a new employment policy had been accepted by the European Union and will be issued tomorrow. “The last one was made no less than 10 years ago… but the Opposition asks us why we haven’t done one… What the Nationalists did not implement in ten whole years, we have managed to do in just over one,” he said.

Muscat expressed his disappointment that the value of work was not putting everyone on an equal footing. “There are too many students who leave school early or fail their exams,” he said. “They are then likely to find it difficult to find employment or, if they do, find precarious work. There are many young healthy adults who could contribute greatly to this country and its economy but often end up depending on their families,” he said, adding that as part of the new employment policy, students who fail SEC exams will be provided with private lessons at government’s expense.

Muscat said it would help over 2,000 youths find jobs or apprenticeships. “It is you that voted for us and it is you that has made these things happen,” he told the crowd.

His said his government was prioritising education and work, setting much store in a €4 million allocation for scholarships for Masters’ and doctorate degrees.

Turning to the last 10 years of EU accession, Muscat said a “true European” meant much more than paying lip-service. “It’s the mentality that makes one European and not the flag… Today we have a European government, made evident by its actions.”

Muscat, whose mass meeting was in Bormla, drew a big reception as he announced that the monument of the late Dom Mintoff, former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, would be erected in the exact point where Muscat was speaking.

“We cannot but mention him today,” Muscat said. “He was perhaps the greatest voice for workers in this country.”