It's your choice

On Saturday, we need to choose the Prime Minister for the next five years. Voters who want Lawrence Gonzi as Prime Minister with a new refreshed team need to vote for PN candidates. All other votes will lead to the election of Alfred Sant as Prime Minister from Sunday. Each elector needs to analyse the two contenders' abilities, required to lead our country.

Track record: Dr Sant will forever be remembered for his adventures during the 22 months in government. He replaced VAT with the enigmatic CET. He froze EU membership. He ruined the country's finances in just 22 months.

Dr Gonzi has quite a track record to boats of. He has carefully planned, implemented and achieved the challenging goal to meet the Maastricht criteria. He has reduced the country's deficit to a sustainable level, successfully led the seamless transition to the euro and diversified the economy. All this led to an increase in the GDP growth and an upgrade of Malta's international credit rating.

Actions and results, not words, speak for themselves.

Commitment to EU: Dr Gonzi has proven himself to be deeply committed to the EU out of conviction. There is still more to achieve within the EU. Thanks to the credibility he enjoys within the EU, Dr Gonzi will ensure that Malta remains actively involved in all decision making.

The same cannot be said for Dr Sant. His Euroscepticism is quite transparent and, to add insult to injury, he now wants to re-open negotiations again with the EU, even though he is being told over and over again that this is not possible. He still wants to have his own back on the Maltese electorate for the 2003 referendum result. We have moved on. He did not.

Commitment to goals: Dr Gonzi has proved to be result oriented from the day he took over the leadership of the country. He is demanding and he expects results. Selecting one's goals requires prioritisation and now we can safely say that the environment will be the priority goal of the next legislature.

Respect and credibility: Dr Gonzi enjoys considerable respect both locally and also among the other EU leaders. This credibility was built gradually over the years and reflects positively on the perception of our country.

In contrast, foreign diplomats remember vividly their brushes with Dr Sant during the EU referendum campaign. Can you imagine Dr Sant sitting at the EU negotiating tables with the same people he lambasted a few years back? He definitely carries a lot of baggage with him. We cannot throw our credibility to the dogs.

Economic stability: Malta does not operate in a vacuum. Events which occur far away from our shores have an impact on our economy. For this reason, Malta needs to be led by a safe pair of hands. It is of utmost importance that Malta maintains its momentum and the strategic direction it now enjoys.

We need to avoid the roller coaster adventures of the 1996 - 1998 Sant Administration. Dr Sant's promises are just pies in the sky: nothing concrete, nothing tangible and anything is subject to change depending on the amount of misprints that will be discovered in due course!

Opportunities: The PN and, particularly, Dr Gonzi believe in our youth. They are the future of our country. We are committed to help them through investment in education and new industries. We view the stipend system as an investment in the future of own country.

Dr Sant has a deep grudge against our youths and students. He can't even hold a simple dialogue with them let alone provide opportunities. We need to ensure that Dr Sant keeps his hands off our youths' vision, enthusiasm and opportunities and does not gamble with their future.

Short sightedness vs. strategic vision: Dr Gonzi never loses sight of the big picture and the ultimate goal. He is ready to forgo short-term gains in order to sustain the ultimate medium- and long-term goals and benefits. This task requires vision.

Unfortunately, Dr Sant's planning span is much shorter. He thinks that our economy operates in a vacuum and that the rest of the world owes us a living! I think it's about time that the Labour Party wakes up to the economic reality of the 21st century.

On Saturday, don't gamble with your future. We owe it to ourselves and to the results achieved so far.

Mr Agius will contest the general election on behalf of the Nationalist Party.