The Labour Party has "lost its soul" under the leadership of Joseph Muscat who is trying too hard to be liked by everyone, according to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Speaking during a radio interview yesterday, Dr Gonzi criticised the Labour Party for being too "populist" in its approach adding that, under Dr Muscat, the party had lost its soul.

"The Labour Party is going for populism and this could spell disaster. God forbid they ever lead the country that way... Decisions need to be taken that may not be the most popular but are for the benefit of the country in the long run," Dr Gonzi said, adding that he did not want to interfere in the way the PL was run.

He called on the party to stop focusing on criticising everything the government did and offer solutions and collaboration on important national issues such as energy.

Reacting to this, the PL described Dr Gonzi's comments as "an antiquated form of politics".

People expected the Prime Minister to offer solutions to help the country get back on its feet following the increase in the water and electricity tariffs that were threatening employment and burdening families and businesses, the PL said.

During the interview Dr Gonzi added that 2010 would be a year of reflection for the Nationalist Party in government.

The party had to update itself to take on the challenges and keep focusing on the generation of employment and protection of jobs, the economy, education and maintaining a sustainable country.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.