PM looking for an 'explosion of ideas'

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday projected a revamped image of his party at the end of a three-day conference, as he encouraged people to continue bringing diverse opinions across to the Nationalist Party.

Sitting calmly in a conference room at a Sliema hotel, flanked by several pink boxes and a new pastel-coloured logo of the government's Vision 2015+, Dr Gonzi spoke against racism and appealed for a response to be found to the alternative family realities in today's society.

He said the conference on Vision 2015+, dedicated to "non-politicians", was intended to spark off "an explosion of ideas" and formulate a long-term vision inspired by solidarity and the Maltese identity.

Dr Gonzi called on people to overcome political pique and find solutions for utility prices, as well as finding alternative sources of energy, safeguarding water resources and strengthening tourism and industry.

He said Malta had already triumphed over enormous challenges to emerge as a successful EU member state with free healthcare and education despite its limitations as a small island with a population of less than 400,000 people.

"Another problem is that while we are proud of the 2,000 years of Christianity that nurtured our values, today it seems, that when you say this, it is as if you are pushing people aside... even though these values actually teach us to open our arms and welcome people."

He stressed that the Maltese also had to regain their value of hospitality.

"We are a nation that went down in Biblical history because of the way we welcomed a foreigner... And yet, today, when we go through Marsa we pass pejorative comments about black people... and I use the word black, because I think if they were a different colour, no one would say anything."

Despite being conservative about values, the Maltese still managed to develop good business relationships with Muslims, Arabs and other people, who all felt at home when invited to Malta, Dr Gonzi said.

The Labour Party replied by saying that the people were judging Dr Gonzi on his actions not his words, and they did not believe what he was saying. The party also accused him of ignoring serious allegations of corruption, as well as the harsh realities that people were experiencing.