Joseph Muscat yesterday delivered the best speech of his campaign to date. KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA detects a change in stature in the PL leader
“Let there be no mistake. Malta’s place is in Europe. The feudal days of conflict between the yes and no camps, or red or blue tribes, are history. This is the time to move on and aspire for brighter days, where all Maltese can come together and start changing this country’s political direction...”
In Fgura last night, Opposition and PL Leader Joseph Muscat delivered a clear and impassioned speech that reached out beyond the large crowd gathered before him for the last public meeting before this evening’s formal close to the European Parliament election campaign.
Clad in a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, Joseph spoke in a declamatory tone, and gesticulated accurately. For the crowd in the Labour stronghold of Fgura, Joseph Muscat appeared to be what the PL has been desperately yearning for after last year’s shock defeat at the polls.
Eloquent in his delivery, Joseph Muscat took centre stage, and excusing himself for diverting from the issues that characterised the campaign, he stressed: “Here I am, a believer in this country, and a believer in you. I am not a politician who likes flag waving. I hate the political divide. I am here to build bridges, preserve a free mind, to uphold the strong values that have built this nation, and most of all, to change Malta.”
Joseph Muscat insisted that he and his party are standing before a nation in a bid to build what he defined as a brand new “political project,” adding that this project enhances all those who believe that a brand new dawn is breaking for the country.
Beyond the usual political rhetoric, Joseph Muscat sent a clear message to disgruntled Nationalist supporters. “The PL is also their ‘common home’”, and appealed to supporters to fling their doors wide open to all who have never voted for the PL before.
“We are a new coalition, bringing together all Maltese from all walks of life, with different aspirations, and who are eager to start hoping again. We will make that change happen,” he stressed.
In his few political digs, amid applause and acknowledgement, Joseph Muscat explained that his party welcomes those thousands of workers from all sectors who have been taken for a ride by Lawrence Gonzi’s administration before last year’s general election.
“Those of you out there, hunters and trappers, Go employees, dockyard workers, teachers, nurses, nursing aides, doctors, bus and taxi drivers, architects and engineers: they promised you everything just to get your vote last year, and they betrayed you. Now they are trying to lure you back into the trap because it is time again to vote...
“Let me tell you this: they lied to you, and now I will tell you, that we won’t lie, nor will we take you for a ride. This is your chance to send the message to those who deceived you and your families, and are now threatening your families’ future,” he said, while waving a series of personalised letters and emails that were sent to various sectors a year ago on the eve of the general election.
The atmosphere in and around the campaign tent was rife with optimism, and perhaps for the first time in years, the PL grass root support appears to have started to believe in its promising young leader, who carefully explained the meaning of being part of a “progressive” party.
A cross between former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Barack Obama, Joseph Muscat dwelt on bringing out the inner pride of a nation that has risen to be the what it is today from the humble origins of a dependent colony.
Joseph Muscat admitted that he himself hails from a “mixed” family that votes both Labour and Nationalist, but he chose to militate within the PL for the reason that he believed in the “progressive” ideas that, during the 1970s and the 1980s, put Malta a notch ahead of other European states.
He explained that the decriminalisation of homosexuality back then by a Labour administration was a progressive idea; as were the enfranchisement of women the lowering of the voting age to 18, the national minimum wage, maternity leave, pensions and the widening of the middle class.
But Maltese pride is also reflected in the progressive attitude borne out of a strong belief in the nation, mentioning the establishment of Air Malta, strong banks, as well as a number of solid parastatal companies.
“Now tell me where would we be today if Labour was not progressive?” Joseph Muscat asked.
Social justice is the tool which was and will continue to be the PL’s main axis, he said, adding that the future still holds a place for all to have free access to healthcare, decent retirement pensions and most of all, a sense that the State exists to regulate and create the opportunity for the advancement of all those who wish to make a success out of their lives.
He reached out to investors and employees, to be complementary to each other’s success, and for social jealousy to be eradicated once and for all.
“Let us move on in this country,” Joseph Muscat said passionately, receiving a loud applause of approval, and more when he spoke about Church-State relations.
“I respect the Church as an authority, and I respect the State. We are friends, but they are two separate entities. I believe in a secular society,” he stressed.
At times pausing, and looking straight into the TV cameras, Joseph Muscat explained that the PL stands for access for all children to the tools that will lead them towards successful lives, the value of equality, solidarity and social justice.
He criticised the lack of debate in Malta about the causes of the current global economic crisis, and pledged that the PL believes in a state that does not tolerate market abuses or the dominance of the market over workers.
He closed his speech by appealing to the undecided voter to stop and think: “Come next Saturday, I ask you all to look into your drawers and pull out your water and electricity bill, open it, read it and then send a clear message back to who sent you that,” he said while he waved a utility bill in his hand.
Joseph Muscat was then escorted out of the square amid loud applause and tears from some supporters who saluted him with chants of “Joseph, Joseph!”
Behind the campaign tent was a flurry of parked SUV’s that were later seen transporting MP’s, candidates and activists back home.
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