Simon Busuttil reflects on what people tell him

It is Simon Busuttil’s birthday today.

For some reason the two main parties did not hold their usual Sunday morning political activities. Labour had a political activity on Saturday evening and so Dr Muscat gave a brief radio interview yesterday. Dr Busuttil too gave an interview on Radio 101.

In this interview, Dr Busuttil focused on what people have been telling him.

In Gozo, he visited a family which voted PL in the last election because the family felt the previous PN government did not give it what it wanted.

It has now obtained from the Labour government what it wanted but it will nevertheless vote PN in the coming election because as the head of the family told Dr Busuttil it must keep the national interest firmly in sight.

A woman told him that her €500 pension is not enough for her needs especially her costly medicines. Dr Busuttil promised her that under a PN government she will get medicines for free.

People who live in social accommodation told him that after the government hiked the rents for government accommodation and then said it had reduced them back again to what they used to be, the rents have not been reduced as promised in the last Budget but they are still being asked rent at the higher price with a promise it will be refunded later.

A carer at Mater Dei working for a private contractor gets €5.61 per hour while other carers doing the same job but working for the government get over €7 an hour.

Then according to The Sunday Times, Konrad Mizzi wants to give 150 jobs at Water Services to people only if they come from his electoral district. This is electoral corruption.

And according to a Malta Today survey corruption has risen to be the top concern for 30% of the Maltese population.

The PN leader promised that a PN government would open opportunities for all.

Today, opportunities are for the few, even in trade. People in trade have told him they no longer care to apply for government tenders as the winners would be known even before the tenders were issued.

This government has Malta light-years back.

Where the police are involved, it all depends who you are. There was a drug case in Gozo where persons have been arrested but the case has not yet made it to the law courts because an admission of guilt was changed after the intervention of two high-placed politicians. taken

The law is no longer the same for everyone.

Former PL secretary general Jimmy Magro who has been condemned by the Commission against Corruption has yet to be taken to court.

There are three, not two, companies in Panama and as regards the third one, after a year, someone woke up and said the third company is his. “I do not believe Brian Tonna,” Dr Busuttil said.

The question regarding donations to parties raises the issue whether the parties can be influenced by such donations. But I, Dr Busuttil continued, as I proved in the ITS case, will not be swayed.

Another question regards whether MPs should be fulltime. The Giovanni Bonello Commission is studying this very issue.

Malta cannot take another five years of corruption, Dr Busuttil concluded. If Joseph Muscat wins he will be given a blank cheque to continue with all kinds of corruption.