This has been the longest legislature since the Labour administration between 1981 and 1987, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told a press conference yesterday.
Sure, there are many things I would do differently, with the benefit of hindsight
“Together, everything is possible,” he said, recalling the PN’s slogan for the 2008 election.
He addressed journalists at Auberge de Castille after advising the President to dissolve Parliament following Monday night’s Budget vote defeat.
Dr Gonzi said holding the election on March 9 meant the Government had managed the country through an entire legislature: “Five years and a day”.
Asked if he was proud of the comparison with Dom Mintoff’s and Karmenu Mifusd Bonnici’s controversial 1981-1987 Government, Dr Gonzi pointed out that Labour had remained in power despite losing a majority of votes in 1981.
In his hour-long address, Dr Gonzi listed the “extraordinary challenges” faced by the country in the past five years, juxtaposing them with the “extraordinary results” that were the envy of other countries.
Asked whether there was anything he wanted to do differently, Dr Gonzi said that would be an “academic exercise”.
“Sure, there are many things I would do differently, with the benefit of hindsight... sometimes you take decisions that you think are good but they are not as good as you have wished. Or else they are implemented badly. You learn from these things and you move on, and as a country we have moved on,” he said.
Questioned about the 15 Bills pending in Parliament that will be shelved, Dr Gonzi said this was another “academic exercise”.
“Now we’ll go to an election, we’ll win it, there will be a new Government and we will pass these laws,” he said.
The Prime Minister was also asked why he believed PN was trailing Labour at the polls despite all the Government’s achievements.
“Many of the decisions we’ve taken, or at least some, hurt certain sectors. I understand this sentiment. But I am convinced that the electorate will make the right choices.”
He warned that Malta could face what other countries were facing if it had a Government that bankrupted the island’s treasury because of promises it made but could not fulfil.
“This is not fiction. I have seen prime ministers humiliating themselves and asking for bailouts.”