(Adds PN's reply)

Comments made by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech on Sunday should shame the government, the Labour Party said today.

It noted that the finance minister said at a political conference that the Moody's rating was not a rating of the government, but of the state of the country.

The PL said this showed a lack of confidence in the Maltese people.

The analysis which Moodys had carried out involved the government's financial and economic policies, the PL said.

But the prime minister and his finance minister were blaming everything and everyone, except themselves, for the downgrade. This was simply a recipe for another failure.

Maltese families had long been feeling the effects of the burdens imposed by the government and had long downgraded the government, the PL added.

Labour insists on being puerile - PN

In a reply, the PN said that rather than using its time to come up with some serious economic proposals, Labour insisted on being puerile, rich in rhetoric and poor in substance.

"The Moody’s report gives a very sober picture of what is happening beyond our shores - choppy economic waters; financial markets in disarray; soaring deficits; eurozone economies in a mess, and tens of thousands of workers on the dole.

"All these, have a direct impact on our economy. Times like these call for united efforts to make sure that Malta continues to ride, successfully, the choppy waters and in so doing creates more and better jobs, whilst making sure that we remain competitive," the PN said