Gonzi, Muscat in final debate

Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat yesterday took part in their final debate of this electoral campaign, providing few new arguments that were peppered by quick exchanges.

Otherwise, it could have been a dialogue of monologues but that is normal fare for the rigid Broadcasting Authority debates, where participants rarely address each other and the chairman is simply a timekeeper.

A highlight of the debate was Dr Muscat's revelation that on May 21, the government had not sent its representatives to a World Health Organisation meeting on swine flu despite not having a parliamentary vote to hamper it from doing so.

The Labour leader said the government's behaviour showed it only wanted to score political points when Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea did not attend an emergency EU meeting on swine flu in April because of a dispute on pairing.

"We had given them alternative dates when Parliament could meet but all they were interested in was scoring political points. On May 21, WHO held a meeting on swine flu and nobody from the government attended. Obviously, this time around there were no political points to score," Dr Muscat said.

The Prime Minister ignored the statement but hit back at the Labour Party's credibility when speaking on Europe.

At one point he referred to the presence of the Icelandic foreign minister in Malta this week, saying that he should have sent him to the Labour headquarters.

"You could have asked him for an apology for counselling his country to stay out of the EU," Dr Gonzi quipped.

The reference was to an article Dr Muscat had written before 2003 for an Icelandic newspaper in which he argued against EU membership. The Icelandic government is now seeking entry into the bloc after the economy collapsed in the wake of the international recession.

Both leaders identified jobs, illegal immigration and the cost of living as the major challenges facing the country.

Dr Gonzi consistently referred to the country's track record over the past five years to argue that these challenges could be overcome.

He reiterated that a performing economy made it possible to reduce income tax for three years running.

"Labour is trying to hide all this because they don't want you to understand that Europe played an important part in this success," Dr Gonzi insisted.

But in a quick rebuttal, Dr Muscat reminded his audience of the electoral pledge to reduce the top income tax rate to 25 per cent in the first budget.

"Instead of cutting income tax Lawrence Gonzi sent you a hefty electricity bill," he said.

However, it was Dr Gonzi who initiated the argument on free healthcare, the issue raised by the PL in this campaign.

He insisted that this was a ploy by the Labour Party to create confusion among people and reiterated that all health services would remain free.

"I commissioned the report and there are other reports because it is my job to commission reports. However, I take the decisions and healthcare will remain free," Dr Gonzi insisted.

He then shifted the argument and said it was Labour MEP candidate Edward Scicluna who had said it was impossible to sustain a system of free healthcare for all.

"Let's see if you will fine Prof. Scicluna €15,000 for not toeing the party line as your statute stipulates," Dr Gonzi said in reference to a disciplinary rule formerly on Labour's statute.

Dr Muscat refuted the argument, arguing that Dr Gonzi was ill-informed.

"The clause fining MEPs was removed from our statute as part of the sweeping changes in the Labour Party. I am not surprised the Prime Minister does not know this because he has even lost control of his own party," the Labour leader said.

On the issue of free healthcare Dr Muscat quoted from a European Commission communication on Malta's deficit position in which it stated that healthcare reform should be "accelerated".

"This shows that government has already informed the Commission of its intentions to reform the health sector," Dr Muscat said.

He also criticised the government for choosing to levy five per cent VAT on vaccines when it had the option not to do so.

In a bid to attack the Labour MEPs' voting record Dr Gonzi pointed out that they had voted in a mixed way on the issue of capping workers' overtime to a maximum of eight hours.

Dr Gonzi said the Labour MEPs could not be trusted with their vote. He also hit out at Dr Muscat for ridiculing the financial aid the government was providing companies that found themselves in difficulty because of the recession.

"Why does Dr Muscat diminish this?" he asked.

Reacting, Dr Muscat said the Prime Minister had better see that his people learn to use e-mail before teaching Labour a lesson on how to use voting buttons.

"The Prime Minister ignored our calls to work together on the shipyards and ST. We are ready to help in order to protect jobs," he rebutted.

Dr Gonzi closed off the debate by defending the choice of the new power plant at Delimara, which is expected to run on heavy fuel.

The chosen technology pollutes more than natural gas, which was the preferred option of the climate change committee.

However, the Prime Minister insisted that the new turbine would still help the country reach its carbon dioxide emission targets, refuting Dr Muscat's claim that it was old technology.

"This is not old technology. By 2015, with the help of the Sicily-Malta electricity link and the closure of the Marsa power station, we will have reduced our carbon dioxide emissions by one million tonnes," Dr Gonzi said.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com