‘Don’t take things for granted’: Labour rounds off first week of campaigning with Naxxar rally

Labour Party leader Robert Abela warned supporters not to take the election for granted during a campaign rally at the Naxxar Trade Grounds.

The Labour Party has long been slated to achieve a record win for the coming election. Three poll surveys published on Sunday indicated that Labour will win the election by a minimum 23,000 vote majority.

"Don't take things for granted," Abela told a crowd of supporters on Sunday. "We'd be mistaken to think that the election result is predetermined... no one should rely on other people's votes."

Hundreds of supporters gathered at the Naxxar Trade Grounds on Sunday with flags and Labour Party tshirts for the party's first rally of the election campaign.

Supporters were spotted donning election merchandise with the party slogan "Malta Flimkien" (Malta Together) hours before the event started, taking full advantage of the sunny weather in the early afternoon.

"Together we can achieve the greatest of things," Abela said as he kicked off his speech, playing along with the party slogan.

Abela quickly made a dig towards the Nationalist Party, accusing them of failing to remain united in critical times.

"Others split apart at a time when they needed to be most united," he said.

Abela said that the Labour Party will tomorrow be revealing more information on their campaign proposals for the next five years.

He added that the party's manifesto will feature 1,000 proposals based on the '100 idea' programme, through which the party collected various ideas and proposals from stakeholders, all centring around 10 policy fora.

Abela promised that a new Labour government led by him will mean more money for workers in the lower and middle income groups, as well as for the elderly.

"If you give us your trust, in the next five years we will generate the highest ever increase in pensions. We promise to do double what we did over the past five years."

He recalled a separate proposal that would see government cover €1,000 a year from the loans taken by first-time property buyers.

"Today we are in a position to give more importance to things that we should have focused on earlier," Abela said. "In some areas society has changed, but maybe not enough. For example, gender equality. We've done a lot, but there's more to do."

Before Abela took the stage, deputy leader for party affairs Daniel Micallef pledged that the Labour Party would lower taxes in its first government Budget of the legislature.

He too shared the sentiment that a Labour win should not be assumed or taken for granted.

"This narrative, even from media editorials, about Labour being unbeatable annoys me a lot. I grew up in a time when others thought they were unbeatable," he said, reflecting on the Nationalist Party's 2008 electoral win.

Micallef extended a hand to Mario Galea, a Nationalist MP who this week withdrew his candidature for the coming election. "They treated him in the most wicked way, I greet him from here."

"I encourage you to go around to your friends, family, work colleagues and convince them to join us in our march. This movement has the vision and energy needed to move this country forward."