The Labour Party yesterday accused Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi of having gone “into hiding” since Malta’s bond ratings were downgraded by credit agency’s Moody’s on Tuesday.

“The highest ever paid Maltese Prime Minister has not said one word about this certificate of failure,” Labour said, accusing him of hiding the real state of the economy. “Any other responsible Prime Minister would have reassured families, businesses and markets. But Lawrence Gonzi chose to go into hiding instead.”

Moody’s downgraded Malta’s bond ratings to A2 from A1 and revised the outlook to negative.

The government reacted with “disappointment” but said the downgrade was “understandable when one considers the economic situation in Europe, particularly the fact that some countries are going through a crisis”.