Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this morning referred to the recent resignation of the head of the oncology department and said that all the government wanted was to work together with professionals in the field to improve the service while keeping it sustainable for the benefit of patients.

Speaking in Birzebbuga, Dr Gonzi said that different people were recommending different solutions “but let’s work together and make it sustainable”, he said, as he paid tribute to Prof. Stephen Brincat (the former head) and all professors.

He did not refer to claims by Prof. Brincat that cancer patients treated at the Gozo hospital have died from chemotherapy toxicity because treatment was carried out without the necessary expertise.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the “Mintoff economics” calling on the people to open their eyes and not to forget the past as it was a mirror of the future.

He recalled that under Mr Mintoff one could not buy chocolate and toothpaste, telephones were second hand and education was lacking. These were the Mintoff economics one should be careful not to return to, he said.

Dr Gonzi spoke on government instability, a claim which he said had been made for the past four-and-a-half years. “But we are here today and strong… If we were unstable, we would have done worse and not better than other countries,” he said.

He acknowledged that there were internal difficulties which the party was dealing with through the rules of democracy. The party, he said, should remain strong, certain and serious in its decisions and continue to put Malta’s interests first and foremost. Politicians also had to remember they were elected to be of service to the people.

Dr Gonzi said that the Labour Party had had a new leader for four-and-a-half years but it had not yet made its solutions known. However, when leader Joseph Muscat let something slip, it was clear that a Labour government would be a disaster for the country.

A Nationalist government empowered families to make their own choices relating to jobs, education and health.

He also spoke on independence, describing this as the best national holiday.

Dr Gonzi hoped that the people would again take the best decisions and put their trust in the PN and not in a party that each time it was in government failed to recognise opportunities and challenges and brought the country to a standstill through its socialist policies.