'Jobs are the be all and end all' – Gonzi

Insisting that job creation was the bottom line in administering the country, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that if no jobs are created, there would be no capital investment, no education, and no health services.

Speaking in Senglea in a PN event, Gonzi said "jobs are the be and end all," underpinning his government's achievements in tourism, manufacturing, the aviation industry and other sectors.

"These jobs went to your sons and daughters. I am surprised that Labour sidelined job creation during this electoral campaign. It is scary. If the country does not create 25,000 new jobs in the next five years we will be in trouble."

Given a hero's welcome in Senglea, the core of Labour's heartland, Gonzi was warmly embraced by his party stalwarts Tonio Fenech, Mario de Marco, Simon Busuttil and Beppe Fenech Adami.

Addressing undecided and first time voters Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that while many voters have already set their minds, many other thousands are still undecided and many others are first-time voters.

"Young voters casting there vote for the first time should ignore the fanfare of the electoral campaign and look at their future which will bring exams and graduations. Then what next? Will you find a job? The same applies to who chooses not to study...will you find a job?"

"With an open heart I tell you that who is elected Prime Minister after 9 March will not have time to celebrate but he would need to guarantee that jobs are created. And what if things go wrong?" Gonzi asked.

He added that Maltese young people could suffer the same fate as their counterparts in other countries. "Lets make sure that this does not happen. Voting is not a party, your vote will determine the country's future."

Turning his attention to undecided voters, Gonzi reminded the audience that the country had taken a chance on Labour in 1996, only to face unparalleled unemployment, a flurry of new taxes and spiralling national debt.

Citing prominent Labour candidates such as Evarist Bartolo, Leo Brincat and Karmenu Vella, Gonzi said: "The same people running that very same 1996 government are still running Labour today. Do not take a risk. It is not worth taking a risk. Only the PN can guarantee your future"

The bigger picture

The PN runs a risk on 9 March because the PN administration had concentrated on getting the bigger picture right and ignoring other smaller realities, which might have caused grievances to a number of persons, party deputy leader Simon Busuttil said.

"I am there for you today and I will also be there for you after 9 March," Busuttil said, adding that if elected to government he would be responsible for making sure that the PN administration is not detached from the people.

"There will be no other election in which people will feel let down for similar reasons. But in the same way we are committing ourselves to be there for you after 9 March, we also need your commitment and your support," Busuttil said.

However, Busuttil said the country is better safe than sorry and insisted that there is no doubt that the PN government delivered in terms of job creation, education and health. "The PN was with you all along and delivered the most important things in your life," Busuttil said, stressing that if the PN administration had failed to address the bigger picture the whole country would have been in trouble.

PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier urged PN supporters to listen carefully to what Labour's message, stressing that the Labour club drug case "unmasked" Labour's hypocrisy.

"The Safi drug case is very serious. Labour leader Joseph Muscat had the responsibility to stand up for the dignity of the persons making use of drugs. This unmasks Muscat's true character, symbolised by his deputy leader Toni Abela's insistence that the case was concealed to save Labour's face. Muscat is ready to hide his actions to win power."

Borg Olivier went on to reiterate Muscat and Abela complicity and insisted that Muscat cannot sack his deputy leader because he would have to sack himself too.

Echoing the message of other speakers who addressed the PN activity this morning, the PN secretary-general said that during PN leader Lawrence Gonzi permanence in government following his election in 2008, unemployment in Cyprus, Spain and Greece shot up, while unemployment in Malta decreased.

Calling on voters to cast their vote and mark their number one in the blue box on the ballot paper, Borg Olivier said: "Your vote is an investment in our children's future to guarantee job creation for the next 10 or 15 years."

Pointing out the differences between the two major parties' position on job creation, finance minister Tonio Fenech said that Labour has so far failed to spell out its plans on job creation, while the PN had made it clear that it intends to create more jobs in the same way it did during the last five years.

"The choice is clear on 9 March, vote for your job. Therefore vote for Lawrence Gonzi and the Nationalist Party," Fenech said.