Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning that he acknowledged that a section of the population wanted to see change in the country, but the agent for change for the better was only the Nationalist Party.

"How can the people trust the future to the Labour Party, which has a history of change for the worst?" he asked in a Radio 101 interview.

This, he said, was an objective assessment based on historical fact.

Fourteen years ago the people also wanted change and they voted in Alfred Sant. What they got was the freezing of Malta's EU application with Joseph Muscat's support, the replacement of VAT with CET, and a sharp rise in government debt and unemployment. Investment had also dried up.

"We had warned of disaster, and we were proved right the last time Labour was in government. And I am sure that Malta will find itself in trouble once more should Labour be returned," he said.

One only needed to see how Labour was lacking an economic strategy and a strategy for job creation, the prime minister continued.

The people he said, could compare electoral programmes. The PN had produced detailed, costed proposals for growth and expansion into new areas of economic activity. That Labour was not saying how it would create jobs was nothing short of scandalous, Dr Gonzi said.

Many of the people who had authored the 1996 disaster were still in the Labour ranks, he said.

The change which the PN would bring about would mean 25,000 jobs, a bigger Mcast, a bigger university and more business.

"Those who want change should take my advice. The PN has a history of constant change for the better, for modernisation," Dr Gonzi said. It would also mean better education and more healthcare facilities, including the best cancer hospital in the region and great focus on primary health care.

EU FUNDS

Replying to various questions, Dr Gonzi underscored the benefits for Malta that were achieved when the government successfully negotiated an EU allocation of €1.28 billion for Malta for the next seven years.

He said the government had shown how it was able to administer such funds wisely, such as through the new cancer hospital, 85% of which is being funded by the EU.

A new PN government would ensure that the new funds would be used, particularly, for job creation and investment, he said.

 

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