Labour CEO Accuses Adrian Delia Of ‘Dangerous’ Rhetoric Against Foreigners
The Labour Party’s CEO Leonid McKay called out Shadow Finance Minister Adrian Delia for what he described as “dangerous rhetoric” against foreigners in Parliament.
McKay spoke out after Delia shone a light on “scary” data which shows that foreign nationals now outnumber Maltese people in six towns – Msida, St Paul’s Bay, Gżira, St Julian’s, Pieta and Sliema.
“His comment was out of place… in fact the comment itself was scary (tat-tkexkix),” McKay said.
He went on to warn politicians against labelling entire zones or towns.
“Delia should have known better,” he said. “Back in 2012, when I was researching certain concentrations of poverty in Malta, I understood the potential implications of labelling entire areas.”
“Have we already forgotten how many people we hurt, not too long ago, when entire regions were associated with social problems and drugs?”
“Besides Delia’s speech being politically dangerous, it is also incorrect. I don’t need to sugarcoat it – we know exactly what happened when someone believed that another person’s life is meaningless, even in Malta.”
“Labelling entire zones and villages is an ugly as casting prejudice on entire groups of people. The consequences could be very ugly, not only on their livelihoods but on the provision of essential services in these areas.”
McKay said the solution to tackling challenges brought about by foreign workers lies in the PL government’s migration policy, which introduces fresh restrictions on third-country nationals.
“This policy safeguards the dignity of every worker, in the interest of the Maltese workers themselves,” he said.
“A signal is also being sent that permission to work in Malta isn’t an automatic right but an opportunity that you need to work for both before and after you arrive, and that you will only receive if the Maltese labour market requires it.”
“This is how to address challenges – not with scaremongering and populism but with fact-based measures and solutions, and above all with a sense of mutual respect.”
Photo left: Leonid McKay, Photo Right: Adrian Delia