‘Nationalist Government brought great changes’

In sharp contrast to Labour, the Nationalist Government brought about “great” and “good” changes, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

He acknowledged there were people who were clamouring for a change, especially after the many years of Nationalist Party administrations but, he pointed out, PN governments had moved the country forward.

Speaking during an interview on Radio 101, Dr Gonzi said the PN had been in government for 14 years “because there were 22 months when Labour was in power”.

“These people are projecting themselves as saviours but the last time they were in power they made a disaster,” he said.

When the electorate chose the Labour Party, Dr Gonzi said he bowed his head to that decision. “The electorate understood that when Labour was in government it would remove VAT”. Instead, “we were right in saying that it would create a mess,” he added.

Turning to the €516,000 raised during a party fundraiser on Saturday, Dr Gonzi said the PN needed the money for its election campaign because “we are at a critical moment”.

The money would be used to convey the party’s message to the electorate. It was clear that the PL had a bottomless pit of funds, he said.

He spoke about the €1.1 billion in EU funds, which the Government had negotiated for the next five years. The money would create new jobs and the party believed that, over the next five years, there would be the need for more jobs.

“Our aim is to reduce the number of people working with the Government and to increase those with the private sector”.

He pointed out that the PL’s manifesto made a commitment towards creating jobs but did not specify how these would come about, something that was “scandalous”, he said.

In contrast, the PN’s programme was full of proposals and the cost estimates had been published. With the approved EU budget, “we have our minds at rest that we can implement it”.