Joseph Muscat attempted to cool talk of a 'solidarity meeting' planned for the day of his court appearance, urging people to instead support him by casting their vote for the Labour Party at the upcoming June 8 elections. 

As tensions flared on Tuesday evening after Prime Minister Robert Abela claimed the PN was setting a "trap" for those who intended to show up to the meeting, Muscat appeared to discourage people from attending on the day. 

“The greatest solidarity you can show with me, my friends, is not to take leave from work to come to Valletta,” Muscat told a crowd in Żabbar. 

“The biggest show of solidarity that I can ask of you is to go and vote for all the candidates of the Labour Party on June 8”.

Muscat was speaking at an event organised by PL MEP candidate Clint Azzopardi Flores on the day that some of the former prime minister’s biggest allies announced a “solidarity meeting” outside the courts. 

The meeting is set for around the same time when Muscat is set to formally face a raft of financial crime charges related to the deal that saw the privatisation of three state hospitals.

Echoing similar calls from Abela, Muscat encouraged Labour supporters not to “fall to provocation”.

Speaking to the crowd, Muscat said: “No one should dare to succumb to provocation. You will be pleasing those who are about to get a massive boo-boo”. 

Only a few hours earlier, Abela alleged that the Nationalist Party is setting a "trap" for Labour supporters by “stoking tensions” on the day they plan to gather in support of Joseph Muscat. 

In response, PN leader Bernard Grech slammed Abela for speaking dangerously and inflaming people's emotions, telling him to go to the police with the information if the claims were true. 

Muscat was given a hero’s welcome as he stepped on the small stage. Photo: Clint Azzopardi Flores/ Facebook

Muscat urges crowd to 'respect journalists'

Muscat also told the crowd that gathered to see him that they must respect journalists. 

“If we like them, if we don’t like them - we must respect their work and opinion because they are doing their jobs,” Muscat said referring to journalists. 

“There are even journalists here tonight, and we respect what they do,” he said. 

Urging his supporters to take the high road, he told the crowd they can simply ignore any news that they disagree  with. 

“Now if you don’t like what they write - don’t read it, and if you don’t like what they say don’t listen,” he said. 

Muscat was given a hero’s welcome as he stepped on the small stage, built right next to the Żabbar Labour Party club. 

As crowds cheered “Joseph, Joseph” someone from the crowd presented Muscat with a large bouquet of red and white flowers. 

The speakers who preceded Muscat including, Labour MPs Michael Falzon and Chris Agius, and former European Commissioner Karmenu Vella all praised the former prime minister before giving their endorsement of Azzopardi Flores. 

The MEP candidate also praised Muscat while repeating calls for calm. 

“That's what they want, for us to succumb to provocation. Then they can go abroad and claim there is a crisis in Malta,” he said.