Josie Muscat (born 31 July 1943) is a
Maltese
Maltese may refer to:
* Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta
* Maltese alphabet
* Maltese cuisine
* Maltese culture
* Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people
* Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...
politician, a former
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
MP (1966–87), an independent local councillor in
Marsascala (2006–09) and co-founder of
Azzjoni Nazzjonali (AN
(2007). He is a qualified doctor of medicine.
Muscat was leader of the PN youth section from 1967 to 1973 and later headed its workers' section.
He formed the Freedom Fighters Front after the 1981 election when Labour was re-elected with a majority of seats despite not getting the majority of votes. The grouping was a form of resistance action against Labour's authoritarian elements but its members were seen by many as sympathisers of European fascism.
He broke from the party by voting against the constitutional amendments which preceded the 1987 elections, which he did not contest.
After 1987 he took a hiatus from political life and made a name for himself in the medical sector, setting up
St James Capua Hospital.
After the
general elections of 2008, Josie Muscat resigned as leader of Azzjoni Nazzjonali after he and his party failed to win any seats.
Just two months after he resigned, he was persuaded to retain his post as Party Leader as no other party member contested his seat.
In 2012, he argued that domestic violence was a "reaction to provocation”.
‘Most men are provoked into domestic violence’
Times of Malta. Wednesday, September 26, 2012
In 2017, Josie Muscat contested the general election on behalf of the Nationalist Party, more than 30 years after he fell out with the party leadership. In a surprise move, the PN approved his candidature on the second district, a Labour Party stronghold.
References
Living people
Members of the House of Representatives of Malta
Nationalist Party (Malta) politicians
1943 births
21st-century Maltese physicians
20th-century Maltese physicians
20th-century Maltese politicians
21st-century Maltese politicians
Leaders of political parties in Malta
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