'Malta needs five more years of stability'

The people should have no regrets about rejecting the Labour Party at the polls once again as a win for the Nationalist Party would be a victory for Malta, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

The PN would continue to produce results for the country, which needed five more years of stability, he told the sea of supporters who flooded Dingli Street in Sliema for the PN's third mass meeting of the electoral campaign.

In a speech lasting nearly two hours, Dr Gonzi urged voters to compare what was being proposed by the two parties and draw their own conclusions based on their track records and on which of the parties had a vision for the country.

Referring to what Labour Party leader Alfred Sant told The Sunday Times yesterday - that he had no regrets about the past - Dr Gonzi said stridently: "We have no regrets" about pushing him aside again, as happened 10 years ago when he was voted out of office after only 22 months.

Taking the cue from a banner hung across Dingli Street that read "L-istudenti ma' Gonzi" (Students support Gonzi), an energetic Prime Minister directly addressed the youths present. He referred to what happened during a university debate last Monday, when students gave Dr Gonzi vociferous support but were criticised for behaviour unbecoming: "This is your country. Do not let anyone shut you up. Express yourselves. Your opinion is very important for the country. I appeal to all of you to get your message across on March 8, more than you did at university."

He described the Labour Party as being inconsistent in its policies but consistent in one thing: Uncertainty and instability, as could be seen in the proposals it was making.

"We have returned a better and stronger country while the opposition put spokes in our wheels. In four years we built a strong reputation for the country and came back with €855 million from the European Union."

Other successes included the above EU average economic growth, the all-time record in the tourism sector last year, the creation of 20,000 jobs in four years, solving a substantial part of the country's deficit problem while continuing to upgrade schools and building brand new ones.

"We are not perfect but we did not come back to you empty-handed. Now it is up to you to judge us."

These achievements were just the foundations of what the PN was proposing for the next legislature. The targets were ambitious and challenging but the PN was not scared of facing them.

The proposed tax cuts would translate into between €2,000 and €4,000 less tax a year for those who earn below €60,000, he said, also mentioning the removal of inheritance tax, departure tax and tax on credit cards, and the revision of the car registration tax that was being proposed by the PN.

The environment would be a focal point of the next PN government. In what could be taken as a direct reference to disgruntled Sliema residents, in view of the heavy construction works in the locality over the years, Dr Gonzi said: "Notwithstanding what we have achieved, we might not have done enough in people's eyes, especially in terms of the dust and the nuisance created by construction projects, but I promise that we will be paying more attention to this during the next legislature."

He said that although the opposing party was criticising the idea, the 10 energy saving bulbs per family would save around €200 a year on the electricity bill.

Referring to Labour's claims on education, he said: "Re-sits will continue to take place in September, Junior Lyceums will not close but will be strengthened and the stipends will be retained. The track record of the MLP in education is scandalous and shameful."

He said the MLP's proposal to subsidise the purchase of a first property was not a grant but a loan because it would have to be paid back with interest at commercial rates when the property is sold.

Turning to corruption allegations, he said Dr Sant did not have the courage to report corruption cases to the Police Commissioner, as he was duty bound to do. "Take nothing for granted and be ambassadors of the PN throughout Malta and Gozo. Every vote is important," he ended.

"Let us be humble and understand that there are things we could have done better. But the good outweighs the bad. Let us show that we believe together everything is possible. Malta needs everyone, whatever their DNA.

Malta needs five years of stability and five years of a PN government."