Worse than hoped for, better than expected

The Prime Minister was non-committal on the possibility of reshuffling his Cabinet following a crushing defeat at the European Parliament elections.

"A reshuffle is one of the few privileges a Prime Minister has. It is my prerogative and I will only do it if it is in the best interest of the country," Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

He was addressing the media at 7 p.m. when Labour's margin of victory in the EP election on Saturday was almost certain. Further up the road from the Nationalist Party headquarters, Labour leader Joseph Muscat was addressing a sizeable crowd of supporters.

"I bow in front of the people's judgment," Dr Gonzi said acknowledging the extent of the defeat.

The result was worse than what the party hoped for but better than expected, he said.

In a calm, sombre tone, he insisted he would be taking note of the message sent by the people. He mentioned illegal immigration, water and electricity bills, the uncertainty in the job market and the public transport reform as the major issues that determined the election outcome.

On immigration, Dr Gonzi said the result showed that it was a major concern for the people and he had to take note of this. "But I also understand that people don't want this issue to be turned into a political football and when it comes to the national interest all parties must pull the same rope," he said.

Dr Gonzi said little else about what changes he would be making in government policy to address the people's concerns. As an aside he did emphasise that healthcare would remain free.

Asked whether he would be re-introducing the subsidy on water and electricity bills, Dr Gonzi said the government had introduced an energy benefit and would seek to reinforce that system. He pointed out that, in the coming weeks, the government would be distributing the free energy-saving bulbs, which would help people cut their bills.

"I understand that the water and electricity bills are a big political burden to shoulder. However, I am ready to shoulder this burden even if it means that I have to pay a political price for it because I want to give the people a secure energy policy," he said.

Addressing another campaign issue, Dr Gonzi reiterated his government's stand in favour of the new power station turbine, which will run on the more polluting heavy fuel oil rather than natural gas.

"We could have gone for gas or eliminated the power station altogether by simply connecting to the electricity grid in Sicily but that would require a lot of investment and it would mean electricity bills will have to go up," Dr Gonzi said.

"The experience of having ministers knocking on doors during the last weeks of the electoral campaign did us well because it brought the ministers closer to the people. I want them to remain close to the people throughout the legislature," Dr Gonzi said. Being close to the people did not mean difficult decisions would be made easy.

Dr Gonzi insisted that he was in complete control of the situation. "I am in office and in power," smiling he replied to a journalist's question.

He reiterated that the situation was made difficult by the international recession and his prime objective was to retain and create jobs.

He said the government had every intention of honouring its electoral promises but pointed out that some decisions had to be postponed to the second and third years of the legislature because of the recession.

Looking at the situation from a wider perspective Dr Gonzi said the campaign had been difficult for all European governments. "At one point we were even considering the possibility of losing the second seat. We were seeing our voting tally reach 35 per cent," he said, consoled by the fact that the PN achieved the same result of five years ago.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com