Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that during the contacts held with the Opposition earlier this week, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat had wanted the general election to be held before March 9.

However, Dr Gonzi said, he had disagreed because it made more sense to link the general election with the election for half of the local councils, also due in the beginning of March.

Speaking on TVAM, Dr Gonzi explained that according to law, the local council elections could be moved back to a later date, but not brought forward.

Therefore, in terms of Dr Muscat's opinion, Malta would have held a general election in February and the country would then have spent another €1 million to hold the local council elections on March 9.

This made no sense and the general election and the council elections would therefore be held together on March 9.

The two sides agreed that the electoral campaign would start on January 7.