Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this evening that government decisions on public transport, the dockyard and Air Malta were difficult and affected people working there, but they were crucial for the country to be in the position it was  today.

“How could I let something like the dockyard which was absorbing €35 million a year continue without doing something about it?," he asked, saying that without tough decisions, Malta would have ended up in the same situation as other countries which were in financial crisis.

Dr Gonzi made his comments during a discussion in Zejtun as part of the electoral campaign.

He criticised Labour Leader Joseph Muscat for 'scaremongering' on the incidence of cancer, saying statistics showed that Malta was among the countries with the least incidence of cancer in the EU.

“Dr Muscat should be ashamed of himself,” he said.

On the government's achievements, he mentioned the reduction in income tax for four years in a row and the creation of a new tax band for working parents, as well as the removal of 25 taxes in five years.

He also spoke about achievements in education and expressed doubt whether the 30,000 students who are expected to graduate in the next five years would  find employment if Dr Muscat was elected and whether he would have €30 million for their stipends. 

Former Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said this was not the time to change the captain at the country's helm with someone who had no experience.