Last 48 hours 'most crucial' - Gonzi

The last 48 hours are the most crucial in the nine-week electoral campaign, PN leader Lawrence Gonzi said.

"In these hours decisions will be taken and many people out there are still weighing up their options. This is a sign of the country's maturity and on Saturday the people will choose who will lead the country in the next five years," Gonzi said as he urged voters to make the right decision.

Speaking in a televised PN activity in Naxxar, Gonzi said that the country is being asked to decide the country and children's future.

"What will happen on Monday? Will our students find jobs?" Gonzi asked as he reminded viewers that young people in neighbouring countries are lining up in unemployment lines because of the wrong decisions taken in recent years.

"I'd rather lose popularity than ride the waves of popularity while have scores of people queuing up in unemployment lines," Gonzi said of his administration's track record in the last five years.

He added that his government's achievements did not happen by coincidence but it was the result of the government's prudent and wise decisions.

"I did my utmost and I carried my duties in the best way possible," Gonzi said as he noted that when polling stations will open on Saturday morning, everybody will become Prime Minister.

"Today and tomorrow I remain fully responsible for the country, as I have done for the last nine years, but on Saturday you will all become Prime Minister because the country's fate rests in your hands but I am confident that the country will take the right decision."

The PN leader said that if the country takes a wrong turn on 9 March, things cannot be reversed as he pointed out Opposition leader Joseph Muscat's wrong advise and positions in recent years.

"Forget the gimmicks, in these hours you have to answer the following questions; who will offer you the best education? Who will offer you the best opportunities to buy your first property? When you vote on Saturday, you are not voting for your own sake, you are voting for your children's future," Gonzi said as he urged voters to put aside their personal disappointments and put their children's future first.

Addressing workers, Gonzi pointed out that the international economic crisis is far from over and warned that the Socialist government in France led by Francois Hollande, had mishandled the French economy and created unemployment.

"Let us avoid this. Make the right choice. We have created jobs, quality jobs for all and we will continue doing so in the coming years," he added.