Quotas for gender only - Prime Minister

Speaking in a short interview on One Radio, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat put paid to some ideas which were aired last week and which would have created, for instance, a quota for Muslims in Parliament as suggested by the Imam.

Dr Muscat said clearly that the quotas that are being discussed are gender quotas.

Another idea which was being aired regarded quotas for people with disabilities.

The electoral programme speaks of gender quotas, he pointed out.

Dr Muscat was speaking of negotiations that the government side will hold with the new Leader of the Opposition on a variety of matters.

Talks on gender quotas will be one of the subjects to be discussed. Another issue will be the appointment of a Commissioner of Standards.

Dr Muscat also referred to the figures published this past week which showed that a surplus was registered in Q1.

This showed, he said, that economic improvement was no flash in the pan, or an improvement for election day, after which it would go south again.

Up to a month and a half ago, the Opposition was foreseeing all sorts of catastrophes if Labour were to win - the gaming and the financial sector were to take big hits, jobs would be lost, etc.

The figures released this past week show that none of these dire predictions has happened. On the contrary, the Q1 surplus is the largest, proportionately speaking, in the entire EU.

The government is working hard to implement the electoral manifesto. It is also preparing the next Budget.

One key commitment in the manifesto is the seven-year plan to improve the roads. What will be done first is to bolster the capacity building so that the road works proper begin next year. The government is holding a lot of consultations with Transport Malta and with others to build up the structure needed to deliver results. Once the structure is in place, the seven-year plan can begin.

“People are remarking on how the Kappara Junction works have kept to the deadline and with minimal disruptions. People should not have been surprised: this is how the Labour government does things,” he said.