The government faces a vote of confidence in Parliament tonight, which it expects to win comfortably, but Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi would not say whether this will be enough to quell dissent in his party.

After exiting a meeting of the Nationalist Party parliamentary group yesterday, Dr Gonzi did not comment when asked whether the vote of confidence would solve the problems that have beset the party.

He insisted that issues discussed in the parliamentary group were not made public.

The vote of confidence was called by the Prime Minister soon after a no-confidence motion in Transport Minister Austin Gatt was defeated by the Speaker’s casting vote on Friday.

Nationalist backbencher Franco Debono, who abstained during Dr Gatt’s no-confidence motion, has said he will back a vote of confidence in the government.

Dr Debono did not attend yesterday’s meeting but sources said the vote of confidence was only briefly discussed.

The debate during the two-hour long meeting focussed on the economy and job creation in the wake of the developing international crisis. The parliamentary debate on the vote of confidence will be held between 6 and 9.30 p.m. today and the vote taken immediately after.

According to PN parliamentary group whip David Agius, the government side will only have two speakers in tonight’s confidence vote debate: Dr Gonzi and Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg.

“There were various requests from MPs to speak but time is limited and the parliamentary group decided to give the Prime Minister and Dr Borg the space to speak,” Mr Agius said.

After giving notice of the motion on Friday, Dr Gonzi had said the vote of confidence was crucial to show that the government enjoyed the backing of all its MPs and ensure stability in the country.