[WATCH] In last electoral rally, Delia apologises for PN’s mistakes, says party is ready to rebuild

Adrian Delia has appealed to the people to use their vote to strip the government of its arrogance, to make it change its attitude, and ultimately to take Malta in a new direction.

A little over a day before the European elections on Saturday, the Nationalist Party leader said that his party recognised that it had made mistakes, and that it was apologising to the people for any time when it had hurt them or had set them aside.

Delia - who was speaking at a rally in Pieta on Thursday evening, marking the last event of this electoral campaign and his final chance to put his message across and gather voters’ support - said the PN was ready to rebuild.

“We must recognise that every party makes mistake and every government makes mistakes. Even we made mistakes, and for this, I humbly apologise,” Delia said in an impassioned speech.

“To all those who we hurt, who we forgot and who we set aside after they did a lot of work for their country, we apologise, forgive us. We have made mistakes, but I am here before you not to declare how great I am, but to demand an apology. And we are ready to rebuild. We are ready to again be a party worthy of respect - respect which is not ours by right, but which we have to work for every day.”

(Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)

As supporters cheered and waved party flags outside the PN headquarters - with some chanting “Delia is our leader, Hallelujah” - Delia said that, whatever the people’s verdict was, he and his party were committed to work harder, and to visit people who they did not yet have the occasion to meet.

(Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)

“We will visit them to find out where the heart of the Maltese people truly lies - our elderly who cannot keep up with expenses, the young who can’t start out in life, and workers who don’t have decent employment,” he said.

“On 26 May, Malta’s Prime Minister will remain Joseph Muscat, and the Opposition leader will be Adrian Delia. We don’t yet have the chance to change the government, but we have in our hands a vote, and you have the duty to use this weapon to strip this government of its arrogance, to change its attitude and to take Malta in a new direction - the direction of what is good, of democracy,” Delia insisted.

In his last address before polling day, Delia emphasised that a vote for the “socialist government” would be a vote for a party which supported the European Socialists’ efforts to introduce tax harmonisation and the right to abortion.

(Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)

“The socialist government and Prime Minister don’t care about Malta anymore but want to appease their party in Europe which wants to see a uniform tax rate introduced in Malta,” he said, “The Prime Minister is ready to step on Malta’s financial sector to placate his socialist party in the European Parliament.”

He said Muscat had also avoided taking a clear stance against abortion during the two leaders’ last television debate on Wednesday.

“The PN has made it clear it is in favour of life. During yesterday’s debate the Prime Minster could not take a clear position on abortion. His friend Timmermans wants to make abortion a right in Europe, meaning that everyone in Malta can invoke this right. But Joseph Muscat is not saying this,” he underscored.

“That is one of the choices voters will make when voting for the Maltese socialist party,” he added.

Regarding the reports on Malta drawn up by the European Commission, Moneyval, Greco, the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe, Delia said Muscat persisted in ignoring their negative verdicts, and instead kept finding excuses to justify the state of affairs amongst Malta’s institutions and government.

“All the negative reports Malta has received are akin to a child failing exam after exam. There were reports from the European Commission, Moneyval, Greco, the Venice Commission… and in the face of these, Muscat keeps finding excuses,” he said.

When it came to the latest report from the Council of Europe, Muscat had claimed the Council wasn’t a serious institution, Delia remarked.

“No institution is serious to Joseph Muscat, unless its an institution which he has taken under his control, just as he took the police, the Attorney General, the courts, the FIAU, the MFSA and the army under his control.”

In his closing arguments, Delia appealed to all Maltese people of good will to join him on a new journey for Malta.

“With all of you - not Nationalists or Labourites, but people of goodwill - we can make it. We cans strengthen the Opposition and start this journey for Malta. Do not give up. I will not give up,” he said.