Michelle Muscat: ‘I Am More Socialist Than My Husband’
Michelle Muscat has claimed she holds social democratic values closer to her heart than her husband, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, does.
“I am more passionate about social democratic values and I understand certain aspects and issues that are felt by the grassroots more than my husband can,” Muscat said on Xtra yesterday. “Joseph is more centrist and knows how to work with all sides and strike a balance, which helped win two elections by the largest margins in Malta’s history. If it was me in his stead, I probably wouldn’t have been able to win by such a large majority.”
Michelle Muscat was interviewed in the wake of a magisterial inquiry which found no basis to the story that she owned the secret Panama company Egrant.
She recounted the trauma her family went through in the wake of the story, including strangers giving her dirty looks and her children getting bullied at school.
“People didn’t see me as I am but as the caricature that other people had portrayed me as,” she said. “I’m not a diva. I live a normal life and teach my children to fend for themselves because, after all, their father won’t be Prime Minister forever.”
Muscat insisted the resentment towards her was a result of political prejudice, arguing that her role in public life was very similar to that lived by her predecessor Kate Gonzi.
“My predecessor was very active in philanthropic work, she had travel budgets and she gave several interviews, and people used to praise her,” she said. “I have been helping out NGOs since before my husband was elected Opposition leader and will continue doing so when he is no longer Prime Minister, because I genuinely care about that line of work.”
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