Alternattiva Demokratika candidates and activists met people in Valletta yesterday to distribute campaign material and explain the party’s proposals for the European Parliament election campaign.

Arnold Cassola, AD Chairperson and MEP candidate spoke of the blatant dishonesty of the Nationalist Party as regards the immigration issue. He said that the PN has crossed a dangerous line in deciding to use the ‘immigration card’ as a partisan issue during the EP election campaign. Arnold Cassola said, “In order to gain a few extra votes in the upcoming European elections, certain PN exponents are distorting the facts and confusing issues in order to try and put in bad light the Greens and others. During the past weeks we have all read triumphant PN news releases stating that “Greens communists, liberals and socialists” have imposed the granting of voting rights at elections to migrants.”

Prof. Cassola added “The PN is irresponsibly giving the impression that illegal and irregular migrants will be given the right to vote whereas in fact the European Report, which was voted for even by the two PN MEPs themselves, just recommends member that member states consider that legal migrants, with regular residence permits, after living a number of years in the country, are given the right to vote in local council elections. Translated into hard facts, this means that only the Swiss, Norwegians, Canadians, Australians, Americans, South Americans, South Africans, Chinese, Serbs, Croatians and what not living in Malta legally with legal residence would be given the right to vote. May I remind everyone that when the PN government introduced local councils in 1994 it gave the right to vote to legal migrants – that is legal residents – from the UK to vote in these elections even though back in 1994 Malta was still not an EU member state. The PN gurus have given the impression that our country would be forced to give the above-mentioned voting rights. Wrong. Each country would decide individually whether to implement this recommendation or not.”

Prof. Cassola also expressed AD’s worry that for the sake of a few hundred votes at the next election the PN has shown no qualms in sowing the seeds of racial hatred in our country and are ready to sacrifice our country’s social stability to the egoistic needs of their political party. “This is old style, scaremongering and irresponsible politics.”

Regarding the dispute with Italy on immigration and rescue at sea, Prof. Cassola said that populist Lega Nord Minister Maroni, Berlusconi’s partner in government, should stop trying to ruin the traditional, long standing friendship between Malta and Italy by using the immigration issue for electioneering for his populist party. He noted that Lega Nord even foments racist sentiments towards Italians who are not from the Northern part of their own country.

“Malta, Italy and Greece and the EU should sit around a table and discuss the vast search and rescue area and see how to come to a solution to effectively patrol the area and save human lives at sea. We cannot afford to keep going on like this, discussion under the aegis of the European Union is the only way forward. Cheap and populist electoral posturing should stop immediately.”

Speaking of the current global crisis AD MEP candidate Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros said that the crisis should not be used as excuse to lower standards and the quality of life of workers and employees. She said:’An AD MEP will work for a more inclusive and equal society and for better working conditions for all Maltese and Gozitans. Various experts including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon are calling for investment in a new green economy to create new work opportunities for all. AD has joined the European Green Party in its EU-wide campaign to promote a ‘Green New Deal’. It is worrying that there has been a loss of over 1,000 jobs in Malta and Gozo over the last 3 months. We need intelligent investment and the right policies at an EU level to create sustainable and quality jobs in all sectors. I urge everyone to join us in promoting a ‘Green New Deal’ for Europe and to show their support by signing the ‘Green New Deal’ petition at: http://europeangreens.eu/petition.’

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