[SLIDESHOW] Gonzi asks supporters to convince two voters each

PN leader Lawrence Gonzi entrusted thousands of party faithful present in Sliema and the thousands of persons watching the PN mass meeting at home to "convince two voters to vote PN" to clinch another victory for his party.

"I only ask one thing of you. It's a question of choice. You either put everything at risk or choose to confirm your trust in the PN. You gave us a task five years ago to govern the country."

Photography by Ray Attard/MediaToday

He then urged the mammoth crowd in Dingli Street, Sliema: "Now I am giving you a task for the next five days. I ask those present here and the others watching us from home to reach out to two other persons and persuade them to vote PN. If you do this, on 9 March we will vote and on 10 March we will celebrate. If you do it, everything will be possible, we will have a safe and secure future, we will have jobs, education and health."   

A repentant PN leader admitted that while his government faced a number of challenges which were mostly conquered, it did not always look beyond the big picture.

"If we are entrusted to govern the country for another five years, we must make sure that we change the way we communicate with the people. We want everyone to be treated with dignity, efficiency, courtesy, respect and dedication. Everybody must be treated respectfully and in a dignified way."

He added "we must put the individual at the centre of our policies again."

Stressing that all persons living in modern societies deserve to be treated respectfully, Gonzi added that "citizens must be given their dues when they are right, and when they are not, they deserve to be given a dignified explanation in a timely manner."

Holding the last Sunday mass meeting of the campaign in Sliema, the PN leader could not fail to mention and thank the heart of the tenth electoral district, a traditional PN stronghold.

"We are here in the heart of Sliema...the cradle of the tenth district, the cradle where the PN always had a special place in the Sliema residents' hearts and the PN always held these residents in its own heart."

In a clear attempt to rekindle the PN supporters' optimism he saluted former PN stalwarts Edie Fenech Adami, Guido de Marco, George Bonello de Puis and Michael Refalo.

Reserving special praise for his predecessor Eddie Fenech Adami, Gonzi said: "Do not put our heritage at risk. Do not put all we have achieved in these years at risk."

"When you cast your vote, keep in mind that red means unemployment and blue means jobs. Do not be fooled. Do not be fooled by who is trying to give red a blue tinge, but what was red remains red," Gonzi said, defying Labour's attempt to portray itself as a inclusive force in these elections.

Having a swipe at Labour's plans, Gonzi said "Jobs are not created by roadmaps but jobs are created by concrete action," insisting that the PN was the only party that could be trusted with the most important thing of all, job creation.

Addressing young people directly, Gonzi said: "Do not give up, do not be disheartened, we have always created jobs for you and we will continue creating jobs for you. Jobs are the be all and end all."