MLP 'making the difference'

The local council election results showed a "convincing victory" for the Labour Party, which has not only achieved an absolute majority, but also substantially increased the number of its councillors, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

The MLP was showing that it wanted "to make a difference and that the people have accepted its message," Dr Sant said.

He was addressing a press conference on the local council elections, which saw Labour win the absolute majority of votes (50.2 per cent).

Dr Sant spoke of the need for an urgent effort to ensure that the people's aspirations for a change in leadership in the country are seriously satisfied. There is a need for a change of direction in the country, he said.

Dr Sant said there was no doubt that the majority of the voters saw in the MLP the party that could carry out the work that needs to be done in the community.

The Labour Party had added four councillors, substantially increasing its majority in various localities, he said.

"While we have an absolute majority, the number of councillors could have been bigger were it not for the imbalance in Gozo, with its small localities, each with five councillors."

Dr Sant said a swing in favour of the MLP was evident in 14 out of 22 localities, showing that the party was "making the difference".

As regards voter turnout, the result of the European Parliament election showed that the MLP, compared with last year's general election, increased its votes by 4,400, Dr Sant said.

In the local elections, the MLP increased its votes by 3,300 over 2001. For three years, it had a relative majority, Dr Sant said.

The MLP, which has been stressing the need to fulfil promises, has managed to make a "difference" as regards the local economy, infrastructure, services, security and the social dimension, he said.

The argument used last week that Alternattiva Demokratika was the cause of the PN's loss did not did not hold any water in the local elections, he continued.

As regards the acquisition of a sixth seat in the European Parliament, Dr Sant said it just showed that the government had wasted three years on the issue. Malta was given five seats simply because it had not been present to push its cause during the negotiations.

The recent fight for a sixth seat was carried out only because the government had fallen asleep when it was supposed to be working for the country's interests, Dr Sant said.