Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will wait for the outcome of tomorrow’s no-confidence vote before deciding what the next step should be.

Government backbencher Franco Debono has strongly hinted that he will abstain but Dr Gonzi insisted he would not speculate when asked if a tied vote would give him the clarity he asked for on Sunday.

“The debate is still going on in Parliament and we should wait for Thursday’s result before taking the decisions best suited for the country,” Dr Gonzi said.

If Dr Debono abstains, the motion of no-confidence will not pass and, constitutionally, the government can carry on in office. If he votes for the motion against the government, the country will be heading to the polls.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the end of a visit to the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School in Naxxar, where he was warmly greeted by a group of students.

The political crisis did not crop up in any of the brief chats Dr Gonzi, his wife Kate and Education Minister Dolores Cristina had with students.

But speaking to journalists after a tour of the school, the Prime Minister said “the issue is not Franco Debono”.

“The problems the country faces are creating jobs for these students and safeguarding jobs,” he said, criticising the opposition for presenting a motion of no-confidence without saying what policies were wrong and what it would do instead.

On his short meeting with Dr Debono on Sunday, Dr Gonzi said it was “cordial” but “inconclusive”.

Asked whether talks with Dr Debono were still being held, the Prime Minister said the avenue for discussion would always remain open but insisted that the conditions he laid down on Sunday still stood.

Addressing party supporters on Sunday, Dr Gonzi said a solution could be found but it had to be with no conditions attached, one that lasted to the end of the legislature and in line with the Nationalist Party’s electoral programme.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com