People should not be fooled by Labour’s nice words and promises as they carried no real substance, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzo told a PN activity in Santa Luċija yesterday.

Welcomed with fire crackers in a Labour-leaning locality, Dr Gonzi warned that a bad choice in the next election could mean five years of economic and social chaos that would take the country many years to correct.

“The choice is yours but you have been warned by many that it doesn’t make sense to change a winning formula. We have managed to build a sound economy despite the turmoil around us. Don’t risk changing for the worse,” Dr Gonzi said in an appeal aimed mainly at those who have still to decide how to vote.

Referring to The Times debate held on Tuesday night, Dr Gonzi criticised Labour leader Joseph Muscat for being unconvinced about the importance of ending the dockyard subsidies and investing the money elsewhere.

“Had it been up to him, we would still be losing some €35 million a year in an enterprise that was not contributing to the country’s wealth. We, instead, prefer to invest this money in better education, health and the creation of jobs.”

“Nothing must be taken for granted,” he said. The country needed sound management if it wanted to achieve good results. Dr Muscat was adopting a policy of promising everything to everyone without realising this was impossible to achieve and that it was a recipe for disaster.

Instead, the PN was focused on serious and doable proposals aimed at the creation of 25,000 new jobs.

During yesterday’s discussion Dr Gonzi won the endorsement of the Spanish governing party, Partido Popular, with Spanish MEP Theresa Jimenez describing the current state of Malta’s economy as one of the best in the euro area.

“We in Spain are facing a very hard time and we wish that we are in Malta’s economic position,” she said.

“This is not the time for adventures and I appeal to the public, from my own experience, not to change a winning horse. If you make this mistake you might suffer the consequences.”