The controversial €360 million State guarantee to Electrogas was the main subject of this morning's political interventions by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this defended the guarantee, which was 80 per cent of the financing needed for the consortium to build the new power station.

Speaking on One Radio he said through this, the government was guaranteeing that it would use electricity so a new power station was being built. The previous government had guaranteed that it would use a new Parliament and built one.

It had also given a guarantee of more than €300 million for Enemalta not to go bankrupt. Moreover, another €400 million in guarantees were given in the six months before the election.

The Prime Minister said that, in its electoral programme, the Nationalist Party had copied a Labour Party proposal for a development bank, something the current government was working on.

A development bank, Dr Muscat said, required the giving of guarantees so the Nationalist Party either did no longer agree with its proposal or it had no idea was it was proposing in its manifesto.

The Prime Minister said that what mattered for the people was that the economy was doing well and although there were still people who were unemployed or underpaid, the economy was producing jobs and bearing results. All this was being achieved because the government took decisions and implemented them.

Speaking on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said it was unprecedented for the government to guarantee a private business to this extent.

"This is not normal... If this happened with all private businesses, there would be no private business," he said, adding that through its guarantee the government was placing a colossal burden on the public."

He reiterated that the guarantee was being given for just one reason - to save the Prime Minister's skin.

For without it banks would not have forked out the necessary funds for the power station to be built and without a power station Dr Muscat would have had to resign, as this was what he had promised.

Dr Busuttil said the guarantee was also discriminatory with other businesses and to make matters worse, none of the relevant documents had been published.

The consequence of this government's irresponsibility would remain with the Maltese for the next 18 to 20 years, he said, adding that the Opposition would continue to insist that the government changed its decision.

It had already asked the Auditor General to investigate and would also be taking the matter up with EU institutions.

Both Dr Muscat and Dr Busuttil also wished government whip Godfrey Farrugia, who has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, a speedy recovery.