The Prime Minister this morning called on his supporters to be calm and to stop personal attacks against those who disagreed with them.
The Nationalist Party had always played the democratic game and trusted the people to take good decisions, he said when speaking at Balzan PN club.
"I urge you to be calm and serene. One can take wrong decisions if such decisions are taken in anger. My appeal to MPs and to you is to be calm and to make the right choices. What is at stake are jobs... the future of the country"
Dr Gonzi also strongly urged his listeners to stop personal attacks.
"We do not need them, we should never forget that we are a party that believes in values. We won the people's confidence because he showed our worth. At this time we have to show that we continue to respect a person's dignity, even when that person does not agree with us."
Important decisions may have to be taken in the coming days, he said, and they would be taken with courage and mutual respect.
MP Franco Debono has repeatedly complained about personal attacks being made against him on some media. Similar complaints about personal attacks have also been made by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who has alsocalled, on facebook and within the PN itself, for personal attacks on Dr Debono to stop.
Dr Gonzi stressed that for the PN, the confidence of the people came before power.
"In whatever we did in the past four years, in whatever we are doing now, and in whatever we will do in the coming days, we will always seek the best interests of the country. We are not bent on power. The confidence of the people in us comes first," Dr Gonzi said to applause and chanting of Gonzi, Gonzi.
"Please also keep in mind that while the current situation seriously worries us, one should not forget other major developments abroad which will affect us and our children," he continued.
He noted the ratings downgrade issued by Standard and Poors to most eurozone countries, including Malta. Such a mass downgrade had never happened before, he said.
Labour was acting as if such problems did not exist.
"Those who are worrying about the domestic situation should not miss the wood for the trees," he said.
The current domestic problem would be solved, one way or another, although he was not raising expectations, Dr Gonzi said. But solving the problems that could be caused to the country by the worsening international economic situation would take much longer to fix.
Dr Gonzi promised he would be at the forefront to ensure that the national interest came first.