Lawrence Gonzi said he was ashamed of the Labour leader’s declaration that Malta should take advantage of instability in north Africa to attract more tourists.

“Joseph Muscat’s comments should be condemned because they show his superficiality and lack of understanding of what is in the country’s best interest,” the Prime Minister charged, accusing the Labour leader of failing to see the bigger picture.

Addressing the party faithful at the Nationalist Party’s club in Birkirkara yesterday, Dr Gonzi said it was important to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Tunisia and Egypt in this time of difficulty.

A clip of Dr Muscat’s controversial comment was played before the Prime Minister stepped in to wish that the aspirations of the Egyptian people would be met without further loss of life.

The national interest was best served by having stability in the Mediterranean region, he added, and not by trying to take temporary advantage of other people’s suffering.

Despite both he and other speakers peppering their comments with reminders that the election was still two years away, towards the end of the hour-long meeting the Prime Minister was evidently in electoral fighting mode.

He fired up the crowd with a long list of ills the country had to face in the 1970s and 1980s under a Labour government and accused the opposition of wanting to re-write history by harping on what it believed were the glory days.

Dr Gonzi’s list of shame included the employment strategy of creating a government corps under military discipline, import restrictions that stopped people from enjoying simple pleasures like a bar of foreign chocolate, restrictions on colour televisions, the fear of walking around with the PN newspaper in hand and the fear of being arrested and not knowing whether a person would be still in one piece after being arrested.

“There are some who are saying the 1970s and 1980s were better than today... but we will not allow anybody to re-write history,” Dr Gonzi said to rousing applause.

His criticism was a reference to statements made throughout the week in the Labour Party’s general conference about the social reforms undertaken by successive Labour administrations in the 1970s.

Dr Gonzi’s tirade also follows the recent Labour portfolio reshuffle which saw MP Karmenu Vella – a minister in the 1980s – being tasked by the opposition leader to draw up the party’s manifesto for the forthcoming election.

In a brief reference to complaints that purchasing power had been eroded over the past few years, Dr Gonzi highlighted the government’s positive economic track record at a time when other countries saw unemployment rise.

“To the concerned housewife, who says her husband’s pay is not enough, I say at least he is not out on the streets protesting because he is jobless. We wanted to increase wages and lower electricity bills but we protected jobs,” he said, insisting government was striving to create new and better jobs.

Glossing over the party’s internal divorce debate, Dr Gonzi indicated that the party had to take a stand on the issue because it also had a conscience of its own.

The political meeting was also addressed by Health Minister Joe Cassar, who appealed for a sensitive approach when the issue of assisted procreation and IVF is debated.

“We are dealing with infertile couples and every decision they take has to be respected,” he said.

Touching on the controversial proposal made by a parliamentary select committee to freeze embryos, Dr Cassar reiterated his stand that Malta should go for egg freezing techniques which do not have ethical problems linked to them.

“For me life starts at conception and an embryo is a human life. The problem is not freezing embryos but what happens to them when they are unwanted,” he said.

He insisted that oocyte vitrification (egg freezing) was being carried out in various countries, even if the process was less advanced than that for embryo freezing.

“We have to be courageous irrespective of what is being done in other countries. We are a unique country with its own culture and values and so if we can resort to science that does not create ethical problems, that would be better,” Dr Cassar said.

The health minister also announced that agreement was recently reached with the Italian government to have Maltese cancer patients treated at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

Before the meeting Dr Gonzi toured social clubs in Birkirkara and visited President emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami at his home on the eve of his 77th birthday.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com