‘You have lost the plot’ - PN MEPs strike back at EU socialist head’s Mallia criticism

'Who are you trying to fool by linking the PN to Adolf Hitler?' - PN MEP David Casa rebukes European socialists head for comments about Salvu Mallia

Nationalist MEPs have accused the head of the Party of European Socialists of “losing the plot” after he had taken PN candidate Salvu Mallia to task for comments describing Adolf Hitler as “a progressive leader”.

No stranger to controversy, Mallia on Sunday used the notorious Fuhrer as an example as to why people shouldn’t trust Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, despite a raft of progressive policies introduced by his Labour government.

“Muscat is a tasteless crook who exploited all the weaknesses of society,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Times. “For me, this is a battle against evil. No dictator is ever up front about their intentions to screw you. Dictators pretend to be nice. If you look back as Adolf Hitler, he was very progressive. The first campaign against smoking was carried out by the Nazis. Society was affluent. That was Adolf Hitler. Was he good? I don’t think so.”

The Party of the European Socialists, the political family of the Labour Party in the European Parliament, was quick to express their horror at the choice of words.

PES present and former Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev called on Opposition leader Simon Busuttil to “disown his candidate’s despicable comments and to set out the measures he intends to take to correct the situation”.

“If Mr Busuttil does not have the courage even to stand up to one of his own candidates who has so clearly crossed the line, then he certainly does not have the necessary attributes to lead Malta’s official opposition, never mind to stand for election to government,” he said.

Casa accused Joseph Muscat of dragging Stanishev into a “non-issue”, warning that such tactics will not silence the PN from speaking about the Panama Papers scandal.  

“Sergei Stanishev has lost the plot. Who is he trying to fool by linking the PN to Adolf Hitler? I ask Mr Stanishev – why are you stooping so low?” PN MEP Casa said in a statement on behalf of the PN delegation in the European Parliament.

“And to the Maltese Prime Minister [Joseph Muscat] I ask; Are you so out of your depth to even drag Mr Stanishev into such a non-issue? Do you think you will silence us in the face of such blatant corruption? You will not. That much is clear. Sack your chief of staff and the only EU minister embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal.”