The Nationalist Party was ready to face the challenges ahead, Dr Gonzi said this evening adding that the PN would renew the country and itself as a party and as a government.
He was speaking during a dialogue meeting on the Granaries in Floriana, held as part of Independence Day activities.
Dr Gonzi said that a Nationalist government would create the best change for the people. Although there were people who were against decisions which had been taken, such as the closure of the shipyards and the public transport reform, these decisions had to be taken in the interest of the country.
He warned that people opting not to vote, would be voting for Labour.
Dr Gonzi said that the Nationalist government had faced a lot of challenges, including EU and eurzone membership.
The wisdom in the decision to enter the eurozone was proven when the financial crisis hit and countries which were out of the zone had to fight to save their currency.
Libya had been another unexpected crisis in which Malta came out with flying colours. It had been one of the first countries to take a stand against the cruel acts that were taking place and this move had won it the respect of many countries.
Dr Gonzi also spoke about manufacturing sector saying that factories in Malta had remained open when in other countries they had closed.
The government wanted the sector to grow but for this workers had to be trained to learn new skills, there had to be a constant and guaranteed supply of energy at competitive rates and there had to be investment for a solution to be found for factories which generated waste that was difficult to expose of and which had to be exported, resulting in these companies having an additional expense.
When speaking on agriculture, fisheries and the environment, Dr Gonzi noted that Malta had received €100 million in direct aid from the EU.
He recalled that when Labour had won the election, then Prime Minister Alfred Sant had frozen Malta’s membership application and replaced VAT with 33 taxes.
Dr Gonzi said that the PN was a party whose values were translated into measures for the benefit of the people.
Today being his wedding anniversary, Dr Gonzi also wished his wife Kate a happy anniversary.