The Nationalist Party has to continue spreading its message that the forthcoming election is all about making a wise choice for the future, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning.

Speaking on Radio 101, he said that surveys currently showed the PN at a 12 per cent disadvantage to Labour.

This showed that the PN had to work more and continue spreading its message. People had to make a wise choice and they should not opt for something new but should understand that they will be trusting their future with a government and the consequences were major.

One should take a look at what was happening in neighbouring states and compare the situation to Malta.

The Prime Minister referred to a European Commission report on all its members, including Malta, which analysed how the governments of each country operated and then made its forecasts for next year.

Malta was given one of the best reports by the Commission and this was proof that Labour leader Joseph Muscat was painting everything black when this was not the case.

"We have a tough task to convince people but we have positive news to share... We have achieved results when times were tough, just imagine what we can do in calmer waters," he said.

Earlier, Dr Gonzi said that neighbouring countries were having to face major problems because their governments had not taken the necessary decisions in time and they were now having to take all the tough decisions at one go. Malta had so far avoided such a situation because it followed a certain strategy.

But Dr Muscat was opting to play hide and seek with the people and in spite of being asked repeatedly about how he intended to reduce energy rates, he would not say.

He insisted rates would go down even if the price of oil went up. Such statements, Dr Gonzi said, were irresponsible and did not encourage one to invest in alterative sources of energy.

Such games would only lead to failure, the prime minister warned.

The government's strategy was to ensure the country produced enough electricity, rates were reasonable and money was found to help families have systems which would help them mitigate the costs.

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