Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said today that the government was making compromises solely to win time.

Replying to questions by Stephen Calleja in a radio interview, Dr Muscat said the meetings which the prime minister was now holding with sections of the public were a matter of convenience not conviction, and they came too late.

Asked how to date the people had preferred the PL in local council elections while voting PN in the general election, Dr Muscat said that was the reality up to the last general election and a reason why the PL should keep its feet on the ground after its gains at the last council elections.

In his view, Dr Muscat said, the PL remained the underdog with the PN using the instruments of the government for its purposes.  Dr Muscat said he could nut understand how the prime minister on Thursday met public officers who are part of the Karin Grech Hospital management in a PN activity. This showed how government tools were used to favour GonziPN.

Dr Muscat said the PL today appealed to more people and as a result people who were active in the PN had crossed to the PN because the PL was now the natural home for liberal people. He said the PL was not afraid to speak about its history. Some periods, he said, were regrettable and he had apologised, but the PL also had much to be proud of. He said the PL had shown its democratic commitments in time of crisis and had not kept clinging to the seat of power in 1996-1998.

Dr Muscat insisted that the current government situation was untenable and the prime minister knew it. The government was trying to buy time through compromises, but matters were bubbling. Until that time, the country would continue to suffer. This was the end of March and so far only one vote had been taken in parliament since January  - the one on the no confidence motion.

Dr Muscat said the Opposition was not filibustering and had not called votes on the situation in Greece and the Croatia EU accession motion. It could have embarrassed the government but opted not to do so. However the Opposition was insisted that the Opposition motion on the situation in home affairs needed to be debated.  This, he said, was not the time to present another no confidence motion since there was a pending censure motion regarding the running of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

That the prime minister was now meeting sections of the population was a matter of convenience, not conviction, Dr Muscat said. He, as Labour leader, had been meeting the people for the past four years, which was what every politician was expected to do.

Dr Muscat criticised the government over workers on 'precarious work' engaged by the government itself, such as Learning Supply Assistants. He read a letter from an LSA (supply) in her third year who said she was paid €740 per month.

Dr Muscat said the government was saying that the PL should say what it would do after the election, but it was not saying what it would do now. For example, it was not saying how it was reduce the budget spending by €40 million and it was the Opposition itself which was revealing where the cuts would be. Indeed, the Opposition revelations were shocking, Dr Muscat said, including cutbacks for the university, church schools, the tourism authority and the cancer plan. The least cuts were in the City Gate and new parliament project. All this showed confused priorities.

Dr Muscat said he was also seriously concerned about the situation in Mater Dei Hospital particularly with regard to overcrowding and the emergency department and said the solution was proper management, involvement of the private sector and reform of the primary health sector, notably opening and equipping health centres.  There was not even management by crisis, he said. The Labour government, he recalled, had between 1996-98 decided to make Mater Dei the single government general hospital and wanted to add two floors to the building. One storey was added but someone under the PN  then decided the fifth floor should not be built. And now Malta had this disaster.