(Adds PL's statement)
Water and electricity tariffs may be rising soon but Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi stopped short of saying so during an interview this morning.
Dr Gonzi, who was being interviewed by RTK journalist Leonard Callus, said he was greatly concerned that the price of oil was hitting $75 a barrel.
Water and electricity tariffs, he said, were being revised every six months and the last revision was in June when these were reduced by 20 percent. The price of oil at the time was $40 a barrel.
He said that the price of oil could continue to rise if the world recovered from the recession and the country would have to understand this.
In a statement, the PL said that the Prime Minister's declaration was irresponsible and continued to sow uncertainety by hinting that water and electricity tariffs would again be increased.
Such a declaration was worrying for families and employers, was of detriment to the economy and endangered jobs.
The PL saidthat in the next budget the government should declare what maximum tariff it was willing to tolerate so that families and businesses could do some forward planning. This would remove uncertainety and help the economy to grow.
Dr Gonzi also referred to the Labour leader’s apology on the Black Monday events.
On the anniversary of the country’s blackest day when Labourites under a Labour government which had control of the army and police attacked The Times and the home of the opposition leader at the time Eddie Fenech Adami, Joseph Muscat offered the “most hypocritical apology", he said.
This was because Dr Muscat first apologised and then asked PN to do the same. For what did he want the PN to apologise? For all the people beaten at tal-Barrani or during Independence Day celebrations, Dr Gonzi asked.
The Prime Minister said it would have been better had Dr Muscat not said anything.
But instead, he tried to please those who had been hurt by these events without annoying his own people.
On the €6.06 a week cost of living adjustment to be given in the next budget, Dr Gonzi said he did not decide the amount but this was established through a mechanism in agreement with the social partners. The government, he said, had to be careful not to lose the country’s competitiveness.