Updated 4.10pm with Attard comments
The Nationalist Party has accused Labour MEP Daniel Attard of being disconnected from Maltese society after a comment he made about traffic in Malta.
Speaking on Labour media outlet ONE on Sunday, Attard argued that people tended to forget how bad traffic was in some areas a few years ago. He said he wanted to see empirical data before concluding that traffic is now at its worst.
"They say traffic has increased. I'd like to see a study saying that," Attard said. He noted improvements in traffic flow in Qormi, Luqa, Mrieħel and Attard in recent years.
PN MP and shadow minister for transport Mark Anthony Sammut said Attard's comment showed he was already disconnected from the daily reality faced by the Maltese just a few months after his election to Brussels.
Last year, a study published by the Faculty for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta showed that 97% of Maltese people believe traffic has increased considerably in the last two or three years, Sammut recalled.
"It seems that Labour MEP Daniel Attard and the Labour government are among the 3% who think this is not the case. And if they cannot even acknowledge a problem, how will they solve it?"
In comments to Times of Malta, Attard said his words were being taken out of context to score "infantile" political points.
"I never said or meant that we don’t have a traffic issue. Everyone can see and feel it. It’s a challenge that has been building up for years," he said.
"Let’s move beyond this infantile reporting of mentioning a few words out of context, just to spark controversy. Let's have a serious discussion, not just gimmicks for social media."
In his comments, on Sunday, Attard also acknowledged that Malta's growing economy had brought with it new challenges and that families now had several cars.
Citizens, he said, would need to play a leading and vocal role if transport infrastructure is to change.
Adding pedestrian zones or bus lanes meant deprioritising cars and parking spaces, he said, citing examples in Brussels and London. Are the people prepared to make those sacrifices, he asked.