"Weak and hollow" is how labour leader Alfred Sant described the budget.

Addressing a press conference in the library of the Parliament building moments after the Prime Minister finished reading the budget speech, Dr Sant said hearing Dr Gonzi speak about how firm everything was made him think he was producing an advert for viagra.

The budget lacked serious planning and confirmed the need for a change in government, Dr Sant said.

It contained only "a few touch ups" and is bound to disappoint a lot of people.

It also "shamefully" lacked measures to address the surcharge. The measure to halve the departure tax, which comes into effect in June next year, was "half baked".

"The budget shows a sense of stinginess, a lack of comprehension of what families need. It is without vision," Dr Sant said. It also shows the government is resigned to the fact that the only jobs it can create are part-time.

Asked if he saw anything positive in the budget, Dr Sant said it took the Prime Minister less time to read it and Dr Gonzi's delivery was good, but the content was "weak".

Asked how he compared this budget with his budget of 1997, Dr Sant said his budget had "addressed problems more seriously".

Asked how a Labour government budget would have been, Dr Sant said it would have been "a budget in the national interest, no more no less".

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