The Government will be pressing ahead with Budget 2013 and using it as a vote of confidence where “everyone will have to assume their responsibilities”, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced yesterday.

The Government’s position is untenable but Dr Gonzi believes it’s still business as usual- Muscat

It was his clearest statement yet to quell rife rumours that he could call an election this week, after backbencher Franco Debono and the independent MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando last week turned on Transport Minister Austin Gatt and demanded an urgent vote of no confidence in him.

Speaking at a party activity for students yesterday, Dr Gonzi at one point said preparations for the election were “weeks away” but also stressed that the Government had a duty to present the Budget and “bring the ship to port”

“Labour is playing a game to stop us presenting the Budget and the ones helping them should be ashamed,” he said, contrasting it to the Government’s actions in the national and families’ interest.

A return salvo from Dr Debono was almost instantaneous. On his blog he urged the Prime Minister to present the Budget “now”, adding it would be a “privilege” to deal the “final blow” to the “oligarchy”.

Labour Leader Joseph Muscat, who was addressing a party activity at the same time as Dr Gonzi, also weighed in on the issue, stressing that the Government’s position was “untenable” but Dr Gonzi believed it was still “business as usual”.

He said Labour would be doing what it was “duty bound” to do in Parliament in the coming days.

This could take the form of an insistence to urgently discuss Dr Debono’s motion of no confidence in Transport Minister Austin Gatt over the stillborn bid to privatise Malta’s public car parks.

A decision on when that debate will be held is expected to be taken by Speaker Michael Frendo today.

However, the Prime Minister’s position suggests the Government is reconciled to the prospect of losing Dr Gatt before calling an election. In fact, now that an imminent election has been dismissed, all eyes will be cast on the date for the Budget. Sources within the Finance Ministry yesterday said there had been no directive to speed up the preparations.

“The usual meetings with the members of the Cabinet have been held and we are in the process of concluding work on the consultation with stakeholders, but so far there has been no deviation from the plan to present the budget around mid-November,” the source said.

Should this be the case, and Dr Debono makes good on his threat to vote against the Budget, it is likely that the election will take place early next year.

The only thing that could precipitate matters would be a confidence motion in the Government presented before the Budget. Dr Debono has so far shown reluctance to go down this road, while Dr Pullicino Orlando has said he would support the Government’s bid to stay the course so long as he was given space to contribute.

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