'I will contest the next election' - Gonzi

Lawrence Gonzi has insisted that he will contest the next election as the Nationalist Party's leader and that he is "absolutely not" thinking of stepping down.

In an interview with The Sunday Times today, the Prime Minister says: "I know where I want to see Malta in the next five years. I want to take it there and I'm convinced we can achieve it."

Dr Gonzi admits that he was not pleased with the PN's campaign for the EP elections and that his government "messed up" certain aspects of the water and electricity bills issue - though he refuses to criticise Austin Gatt, saying "all of us could have done a much better job".

The Prime Minister also defends PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier, saying he has full confidence in him, but adds that he does "not interfere at all in decisions taken by individuals" that may wish to contest the post in future.

Dr Gonzi says he is worried "for sure" that there are certain ministers and MPs expressing disgruntlement but adds that "there's nobody who can threaten me on any issue".

The Prime Minister also says his decision to go for a smaller Cabinet has positives and negatives, though he wants to give it more time before reviewing the situation.

Watch excerpts of the interview on timesofmalta.com