Reforms may be making the government unpopular but if it did not implement them, it would be committing treason against the country, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.

Speaking during an interview on Radio 101, Dr Gonzi said that he had warned that dark clouds were looming since before the election and he had been proved right with an explosion in the price of oil.

However, subsidies which incentivised waste had to be stopped.

And the money saved in subsidies was being invested in other areas such as the environment, education and health.

Substantial changes were being carried out and these were the guarantees that the country would continue to grow and create employment.

Dr Gonzi referred to comments in Parliament by former Prime Minister Alfred Sant that Malta should not have joined the Eurozone.

Had Malta not introduced the euro in 2008, it would have ended up like Iceland, Dr Gonzi said.

He pointed out that, in spite of everything, the euro was still a strong currency and the problems certain countries were facing were not because of it but because of problems they had had to face because of the recession.

On the pensions reform, the Prime Minister said that this was not something which could wait.

The decisions, he had had been taken five years ago but the reform was being implemented gradually.

The Prime Minister welcomed the recently announced changes in the public transport route network and promised that the system would continue to be improved.

He acknowledged that the changeover could have been better and that routes could have been researched further, even though extensive consultation had taken place with all councils.

Dr Gonzi criticised the Labour Party for "avoiding challenges" and being afraid to offer solutions.