The Nationalist Party has thanked Lawrence Gonzi, five years after his appointment as Prime Minister, saying he had gone through challenging but ultimately successful times.

The party said that one of the earliest, and wisest, decisions taken by Dr Gonzi had been for Malta to adopt the euro as soon as possible. Although the consequences of that decision meant other difficult decisions, the benefits of euro adoption were now being appreciated as the world suffered a financial crisis and non-euro countries were on the verge of failure.

The PN said Dr Gonzi's vision had, in the past five years, been based on job creation, education and the environment.

The past five years had seen a number of factories close because of globalisation, oil prices reached record levels and the world lurched into an economic and financial crisis, yet the Maltese economy was still able to replace the jobs that were lost, and more.

The past five years had seen substantial investment in education, which had seen not only the building of more schools, but an increase in the number of students furthering their education.

In the environment sector, the Maghtab landfill had been closed and substantial investment was made in waste management.

The PN said Dr Gonzi had anchored Malta in the heart of Europe and Malta now had as strong a voice as the other countries in the EU institutions.

The party congratulated Dr Gonzi and wished him many more years of service for the people.