Alfred Sant urges Prime Minister to stay on

Alfred Sant who confirmed his candidature for the European parliament election last week after being encouraged by the Prime Minister, has urged Joseph Muscat to stay on.

The former Labour leader was the first speaker on Sunday morning at the Labour Party club in Naxxar. Sant is a Labour MEP and will be contesting for a second term in next year's European election.

Sant started his brief address with a friendly tit-for-tat. “I am here [as a an MEP candidate] because the Prime Minister asked me to contest again. I now urge him to stay on and see through his mandate as Prime Minister,” Sant said to applause.

Muscat has said that he will not contest another general election as Labour leader with expectation running high that he will resign over the next two years.

However, pressure has been mounting for Muscat not to live up to his pledge with Sant becoming the latest addition to the chorus asking Muscat not to resign.

A similar appeal was made by PL deputy leader Chris Cardona, who took the cue from the former prime minister and urged Muscat to stay on.

In a short but poignant comment on the situation in Europe, Sant cautioned that there were a lot of worrisome undercurrents, which he pinned on the frustration of people who are feeling left out.

All across Europe ordinary people are angry and frustrated and this is creating mayhem, he added.

“There is not enough social justice and ordinary citizens are feeling the pinch… for us socialists we have to continue saying that the best value should remain social justice. Malta must come first and foremost but most of all we should put the ordinary people first,” Sant said.