Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is optimistic the country’s economy will pull through the recession but warned against becoming complacent.
Malta, he said, had managed to get through the past four difficult and challenging years, with 20,000 new jobs created, another 5,000 saved and 7.5 per cent unemployment compared with Spain’s 22 per cent.
“Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat says all this was a coincidence – if we managed so far, we won’t make it through this? Of course we will,” Dr Gonzi said in an interview on party-owned Radio 101 yesterday.
Malta officially entered into a recession in the first three months of the year after official figures revealed the economy contracted for the second time in a row by one per cent – a decrease of €95 million in GDP.
Dr Gonzi conceded he was worried but added: “It isn’t a bed of roses around us.”
“It’s as though Dr Muscat doesn’t know there are European economies that are collapsing – while he makes guarantees, he doesn’t say that Spain has just asked for a rescue package of €100 billion.”
While pointing out that Malta could be affected, Dr Gonzi said its economy was slightly different because tourism, a central pillar, had picked up in the second and third quarter of the year.
“Let’s see what happens in the next six months before Dr Muscat starts rubbing his hands. Tourism seems to be doing well – it doesn’t mean that my mind is at rest but the numbers are there,” he said.
Turning to the recent censure vote in Parliament that led to the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud, Dr Gonzi said it was another “scandalous” motion filed by the Labour Party – just like the one of no-confidence in Malta’s EU permanent representative Richard Cachia Caruana still under discussion.
“We lost the vote and Carm had to unjustly resign. I felt I had to ask for a clear, unconditional vote of confidence in the government. I got it and it means that now we can continue working on what we already have but nothing should be taken for granted,” Dr Gonzi said.
Turning to people with a disability, Dr Gonzi said a pilot project was underway to provide disabled people with personal assistants. “This is their dream and we are hoping to provide this service. It’s challenging but we are working on it – we’ll see.”
The Labour Party said Dr Gonzi confirmed that the government had not recognised there was a problem with the economy. He did not understand what families and businesses were feeling and this was “very worrying”.