Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said today that what happened in Parliament on Monday was a symptom of the problems facing the country under the Gonzi government.
18 months after taking office and promising a strong pair of hands on the rudder, the Gonzi government had allowed inefficiency in the public service, it was sinking in corruption, people could not make ends meet, and now, the cherry on the cake there was uncertainty in the country because of what happened in the House.
"I am seeing a government that is crumbling and a Prime Minister who has lost control," Dr Muscat said in a Super One interview. "Instead of a strong pair of hands, we are seeing hands of clay."
He said that in 18 months Dr Gonzi had created one crisis after another, including the economic and social problems caused by the tariffs, an environmental crisis through the power station contract and by allowing abuses, and now the political crisis caused by division in the PN.
The worry was that this uncertainty could translate into a threat on jobs, Dr Muscat said.
He said he feared that what was being seen was only the tip of the iceberg.
Another symptom of the underlying problems was how Commissioner Joe Borg had been sidelined by Dr Gonzi, the Opposition leader said.
What had happened in Parliament on Monday showed a leadership crisis.
Franco Debono was not the problem. The problem was Dr Gonzi and Dr Debono was a symptom of the problem, Dr Muscat said.
And Dr Gonzi was running out of alternatives. He needed to face the problem by first admitting that it existed, rather than being in denial.
He then needed to take the decisions needed to remove the uncertainty which was impacting the country, Dr Muscat said.
The PL was ready to give strong, stable and unifying leadership to the country with the vision that was needed, Dr Muscat said. The PL was united and thus did not need to lose precious time patching up internally and would instead focus on the real needs of the country such as the cost of living, unemployment, the health service and eliminating corruption.
Dr Muscat also hit out at the new power tariffs, saying that at a time when oil prices had started to fall, the government had introduced tariffs which would make the economy lose competitiveness and bring many people to their knees.
The Labour leader said the Opposition was questioning the claim that the Resources Authority had reduced the income estimates made by Enemalta when it presented its workings in order to raise the tariffs, because it appeared that the figures were inflated in the first place.
Dr Muscat conveyed his best wishes to President George Abela, who, Dr Muscat said, was in high spirits.