Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said it was the serious way the government was drafting its policies that was attracting investment and creating employment, not demonstrations "in Hamrun or elsewhere".

Speaking in Luqa, Dr Gonzi said the government was showing investors that it was serious in everything it does, and that there was economic and political stability that would guarantee them having a good return on their investments.

"Investment in 2004 and 2005 was substantially more than when Alfred Sant was running the country," Dr Gonzi said. "And, in the end, this is what will win us the next general election," he argued.

Throughout his speech, the prime minister made several references to the upcoming "really big challenge" and "general election", which his party wants to be in a position to win.

"People vote for the best policies. Dr Sant did not lose because Mr Mintoff voted against him in Parliament, but because people voted against his disastrous policies. Dr Sant wants us to forget that he was in government, but the truth is that in 22 months he embarked on wrong policies that led to grave economic problems," Dr Gonzi said.

He continued to say that the PN was always an agent of change and the changes that the party fermented were always for the best - and the country was reaping the fruit of change.

"Irresponsible decisions are easy to take. We will continue to take responsible ones. More changes and decisions lie ahead. I do not call them difficult decisions, but responsible decisions. The pensions reform is one of them, and Cabinet will be deciding on this very shortly.

"We could have chosen not to do anything about it because it is a problem that would affect the government that would be running the country ten years from now," he said, jokingly adding, "who knows, it might still be a PN government."

"The issue is not of sustainability but the adequateness of the pensions. Today some are already finding it difficult to adjust to living on a maximum of two-thirds of Lm6,750. How can people survive on such a meagre pension when wages would rise over the next 20 years?" Dr Gonzi asked.

The same thing with the problem of waste, he said. "No one wants a waste recycling plant on their doorstep. The one we have is right on mine. But we take decisions responsibly, not do like Alfred Sant and say there should be four, but we don't say where so that no one argues about where they will be sited. We chose to have one of EU standards," he said.

Dr Gonzi criticised Dr Sant for giving points to local councils. "The best joke is that he gave the Cospicua council the highest marks when the auditor placed them in the lowest rungs," Dr Gonzi said.

In spite of what was being said, jobs were being created and more women were joining the labour force, Dr Gonzi said.

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