PM accuses Labour of endangering jobs

The Labour Party's policies would endanger thousands of jobs without taking into consideration the country's needs, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said.

He said he was "scandalised" with Labour spokesman Leo Brincat's recent statement during a television discussion that the opposition would base its decision on public perception surveys.

"God help us if we were to make decisions on such criteria. We need to take decisions based on the country's needs. Politics based on public perception surveys would see policies change like the direction of the wind," Dr Gonzi said.

Mr Brincat reacted, saying Dr Gonzi had lost control of the situation.

Dr Gonzi harshly criticised Labour leader Joseph Muscat for defending an Israeli company whose bid for the contract for an extension of the power station was rejected. Out of the three bidders, that particular company was the last on the list because power tariffs would have risen substantially if its bid was chosen, Dr Gonzi said.

Speaking about the Malta Environment and Planning Authority reform, Dr Gonzi said Cabinet had already met three times and would meet again for another three times before taking a decision.

After Cabinet's decision, all the stakeholders would discuss the reform in a national conference, he said. However, Dr Gonzi said, Labour had not yet spoken out on the issue.

Speaking about the fraud investigations at the VAT department, he pointed out that the police did their job and now the matter was in the court's hands.