Updated - adds PL reaction - Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this afternoon put 10 questions to Opposition leader Joseph Muscat and said the people expected clear and honest replied when he rises to deliver his two-hour reply to the Budget tomorrow.
Concluding the meeting of the PN general council, Dr Gonzi asked Dr Muscat the following questions:
Would he change anything of the current government's financial and economic policies in current circumstances?
Would he respect the financial targets, including keeping the deficit below 3% of GDP?
How will he reduce debt without raising taxes? This, Dr Gonzi said, was not about stopping once-only capital expenditure, such as City Gate, but about recurrent expenditure. If Dr Muscat wanted to stop capital projects, which would they be, and what would be tell the workers engaged there?
If a Labour government planned to raise taxes, as MEP Edward Scicluna had said, which taxes would they be? It had also been said that taxes would be transferred to industry. Would Dr Muscat explain which taxes he intended to impose on investors and businessmen?
Would Dr Muscat explain by how much he intended to reduce the water and electricity tariffs, once he had said he had a plan? The people in 1996 were told that VAT would be removed and then they found a government which had no alternative and the result was a tax which was actually higher. How would Enemalta be compensated for the losses it would suffer?
Would tariffs be reduced to everyone, or would it be just for families. What about SMEs or bigger employers?
Would Dr Muscat reduce tariffs even if oil prices rose? And if he still reduced the tariffs, how would the difference be bridged?
What did Dr Muscat mean that a Labour government would take controversial decisions on capital projects? Did he mean ignoring Mepa and acting like Lorry Sant had done?
Was it true that Dr Muscat had recently told contractors that he would issue permits to them within days of taking office? Dr Gonzi said he did not want to believe this, but one remembered how the PL had sent a delegation of contractors to Dubai. And was it true that Dr Muscat had told environmentalists the exact opposite?
Lastly, was it true that Dr Muscat had communicated by e-mail with heads of departments and other people in sensitive posts, effectively asking them to spy in the same way as he had asked an RTK journalists?
Dr Gonzi said Dr Muscat had two hours on television tomorrow, and the people expected answers.
Earlier in his address, Dr Gonzi said this had been a successful meeting of the PN general council,but one should not be distracted from the storm raging all around Malta.
Malta, Dr Gonzi said to applause, had been able to weather the storm over the past year and he wished to thank all constituted bodies for what had been achieved so far. The cyclone, Dr Gonzi said, would continue to rage well into the future, and would also affect Malta. To try to hide reality from the people would be an act of irresponsibility. But once Malta had been successful so far, there was no reason why it could not press on.
The PN, Dr Gonzi said, did not have an automatic right for the people's confidence, That was something which had to be achieved every day. But, he would tell young people, this was a party which never closed any school, Mcast or opportunity to enter the university. This was the party which always presented new opportunities.
He would tell families that the PM had constantly put families at the top of its priorities. It was safeguarding jobs and providing a high standard, free medical service which was the envy of much richer countries.
The PN would have to work to win the next general election, not for the sake of power, but to serve, Dr Gonzi said. At the core of the PN's actions would be the phrase - 'judge us by what we do, not just by what we say.'
He would therefore ask the people to see what they and the country had been through and how they had emerged. The PN was clear in what it said and what it promised - a case of patti chiari amicizia lunga.
In 25 years - since the PN issued its first manifesto of beliefs - the PN had changed the country, Dr Gonzi said. 25 years ago was the time when the Labour government which had a minority of votes violently stopped the PN from holding a mass meeting in Zejtun, Raymond Caruana was shot and Peter Paul Busuttil was framed.
Since them democracy had been solidified and the economy had been transformed.
The PL was trying to hide the country's achievements and the situation of the region. The PL even objected that PBS had sent reporters to Greece and Spain. Which political party in the world objected to the reporting of the truth? 25 years ago, under Labour, one could not name Eddie Fenech Adami. No they did not want a mention of Greece and Spain! This Labour strategy was a danger to Malta, Dr Gonzi said.
But for Labour, the problem for the country was not the international economic turmoil, but GonziPN.
The achievements which the PN governments achieved should not be forgotten, but the world had also changed, and therefore the PN's beliefs needed to be updated, Dr Gonzi said.
He stressed that society needed to be inclusive. In Malta, divorce was now a reality which demanded an adjustment of policies. But the family remained the most important unit for the country. The PN had promised a law on cohabitation and would deliver. This was a sector which currently was unregulated. There were no duties and responsibilities, and this needed to be addressed.
The issue of IVF - assisted procreation - also needed to be addressed. As a lawyer he had seen the anguish of couples who were prepared to spend thousands to adopt a child. Since then medical technology had improved, giving new hope for couples, but this area was still unregulated in Malta and there was also the possibility of abuse.
MATERNITY LEAVE EXTENSION
Another reality which had changed was that more women were now working. The scenario of the family had changed. The childbirth rate was falling while people were living longer. This meant issues such as maternity leave - currently 14 weeks at full pay. The government had now decided, and was telling the MCESD that it understood that adding a further four weeks of maternity leave over a period of two years could be a burden on employers. Therefore the new four weeks extension would not be at full pay but on the basis of an allowance given by the government. Employees could take that additional leave or return to work.
THE BUDGET
Turning to the Budget, Dr Gonzi said that the people, tomorrow, expected to hear a reaction from the Opposition, including alternative policies. The Opposition had criticised everything that the government had done. Last year Dr Muscat drew comparisons with Cyprus, but one now only needed to see the state Cyprus is in.
Dr Gonzi said he therefore expected that Dr Muscat would withdraw the declaration he made last year. The situation in Cyprus was not caused solely by an explosion it had suffered at a power station, Dr Gonzi said. But that, in itself, should also show Dr Muscat how right the PN was to ensure that Malta had more than one source of energy. But Labour had also objected to the power station in Malta.
Dr Gonzi cautioned that in the Budget, the government was saying that more storms were on the horizon. It was not hiding reality. The Budget, therefore, had focused on the motor of the economy, such as SMEs but also large firms. The government was mindful that next year could see another international recession.
This Budget would channel funds for infrastructural projects including the rebuilding of roads.
This was a Budget which also catered for tourism, which was seeing record numbers. It was giving further assistance for farmers, including reduced social security.
The Budget, Dr Gonzi said, was not just about the creation of wealth, but about putting the family at the heart of the country. There were tax cuts for parents, higher children's allowances, an allowance for octogenarians living at home or with their family, and increased funding for health.
Concluding, Dr Gonzi said he would again tell the people to judge the government by what it did, and not just by what it said. He would also ask the people to judge the government by its results.
Results this month showed that in the year to June, the gainfully occupied rose by 3,112 full timers, and the vast majority were in the private sector.
Another hugely significant result, Dr Gonzi said, was the take-up for government bonds this year. While other countries struggled to borrow and only did so at high interest rates, Malta needed to roll over borrowing of €100 million in two tranches for five years and for 20 years. The applications were for €300 million, that Gonzi said to applause. This was an even bigger vote of confidence that the vote of confidence in Parliament, Dr Gonzi said.
The people knew what the government was doing and what it was achieving, Dr Gonzi said. But the people tomorrow expected clarify and honesty from Joseph Muscat when he rose to speak in Parliament. They expected to hear how he would lead the country in the current storm.
PL REACTION
The Labour Party said Dr Gonzi and his government had given up on trying to solve the problems they had created, and they were instead asking Dr Muscat for his solutions.
This, the Labour Party said, was a vote of confidence for the party.