Malta does not need a change in direction, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this evening after the Nationalist Party approved its manifesto.

"We are not in the position of Cyprus, Spain or Portugal. Why should we change direction? Just so Joseph Muscat can become Prime Minister?"

Dr Gonzi said German Chancellor Angela Merkel had praised Malta's economy and "torpedoed" the advice given by the Labour leader in the past who suggested Malta should follow the footsteps of Cyprus, which is now asking for a bailout.

Labour had tried to change direction in the past and drove the country into a wall, he said. Dr Gonzi promised that the PN would present its own proposals on energy soon.

"Ours will make sense and everyone will understand them," he said.

Before Dr Gonzi spoke, the PN councillors unanimously approved its manifesto, a declaration of principles on which it would build its electoral programme.

The extraordinary general council was held at the party headquarters. It was characterised by the prominent involvement of a diverse array of election candidates - including a blind lawyer and a woman who battled cancer.

Gozitan candidate Kevin Cutajar thanked the PN for choosing his "historic" candidature while Evelyn Vella Brincat praised the Government for introducing the expensive cancer treatment herceptine freely.

Other PN heavyweights also addressed the council, most notably Finance Minister Tonio Fenech who was welcomed with loud cheers and MP Beppe Fenech Adami, who rallied the crowd into a standing ovation with a passionate speech where he stressed that the party deserved to win the next election.

General secretary Paul Borg Olivier said the party's electoral programme would be published and approved on January 21 at another general council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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