Gonzi tells PN supporters 'Let's go for it'

Calling on his party faithful not to give up on a PN victory in the 9 March election, Gonzi said "Let's go for it. This should be the PN's victory and I want you to help me earn this victory by spreading the party's message."

Addressing the first electoral campaign event since announcing the election date on Monday, Gonzi said: "We have strong and solid arguments in our favour and those arguments will earn us victory in the next general election." He added that unlike other countries, the country is lucky to have an economy which is producing wealth.   

"We are ready to continue serving all of you, all our families. The moment of truth is with us again and we all know that the PN brings the best of itself in moments of truth," Gonzi said.

In a determined and passionate speech, the PN leader repeated his old mantra, "Do not judge us on what we say but on what we do. We have managed to achieve despite having everything go against us, internally and externally."  

In his pitch for a third term in office, Gonzi said the government has laid the foundations for sound economic, educational, health and environmental management and vowed to continue working hard for the benefit of the whole country.

Citing the reasons why the country should vote the PN in government, Gonzi said the country had weathered the economic crisis which crippled richer and bigger countries. "Thanks to the hard work of my colleagues and this party we have avoided going down the same road."

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who entered the hall together with his wife, Kate received a hero's welcome by the PN supporters who packed the PN headquarters to the rafters.

Newly elected deputy leader Simon Busuttil also received a rapturous welcome as he addressed the PN faithful for the first time since winning the election last month.

In reference to the 9-point advantage the Opposition is enjoying over the PN in the polls, Busuttil told his supporters, "Do not give up, things are moving. We can do it. Our policies are based on the truth and the truth always wins."

In a rallying call to the PN supporters, he said: "We must believe that we can win and together we can win again."

"I must thank Lawrence Gonzi for his results, his honesty and his integrity," Busuttil said. He said the election can and must be won by the PN. He explained that the PN must win the March election for the country and not for the party.

"Winning is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. Power is a tool which must be used to move the country forward," Busuttil said as he noted that the 9 March elections come 10 years after the 2003 EU referendum.

Evoking the PN slogan from the 2003 referendum, Busuttil said that next year's election is of equal significance and said the PN must win for "your sake, your children and the country."

Saying that only the PN can guarantee a continuation of the policies which ensure sound governance in education, health and job creation, Busuttil said "in  the years ahead Malta will make a quality leap."

"Who do you want to be at the helm of the country when Malta takes the EU presidency in 2008? Who do you want to be at the helm of the country when Malta celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Independence."

The MEP said Labour is incapable of doing this because "it is full of contradictions, ambiguity and inconsistencies." Lambasting Labour's record in government, Busuttil shed doubt on Labour leader Joseph Muscat's credibility and said he will only bring "uncertainty and instability."

Returning to the 2008 election campaign format, the speakers had a number of young people, clad in bright coloured t-shirts, sitting behind them as they addressed the crowd.

Hundreds of enthusiastic and noisy PN supporters greeted the PN leader and his new right-hand man Simon Busuttil as the party organised its first event since Monday's Budget vote defeat which resulted in Gonzi calling a general election for 9 March 2013.

The party faithful, clad in EU and PN flags started gathering early at the party headquarters in Pieta and election fever was palpable with past electoral theme songs such as Europe's The Final Countdown and Modern Talking's We Take The Chance blared out from speakers inside and outside the 'Stamperija'.

A buoyant PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier, who opened the proceedings, emphatically told the PN supporters that Gonzi not only led the country for the last five years "but will also lead the country in the next five years."

The much-criticised Borg Olivier said that in recent weeks the PN went through a rejuvenating process, culminating in the election of Simon Busuttil as PN deputy leader. "You all know where you stand with the PN. It is therefore time to turn to you and ask you to roll your sleeves up and ask you to be the agents of change," Borg Olivier told the supporters.

Former PN secretary-general Joe Saliba was among Gonzi's entourage which accompanied the PN leader in the hall. The PN still regards Saliba as an important resource which had been lost and the new secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier was never able to fill Saliba's shoes. He is expected to play a leading role in the party's electoral campaign.

PN donor and construction magnate Zaren Vassallo was among the PN officials, candidates and hundreds of supporters who chanted 'Gonzi, Gonzi' and cheered their political leaders all evening.