[LIVE] PN General Council - live blog

Follow our minute-by-minute live blog of proceedings at the PN's general council.

12:21pm We'll keep you updated with the latest developments.

12:19pm Gonzi has effectively asked the Nationalist party whether it wants to choose a new leader or keep faith with him.

12:17pm Gonzi's speech ends. The Prime Minister will soon address a press conference at the PN headquarters.

12:15pm "I am ready to welcome everybody to work with me. I still beleieve that everything is possible for the country."

12:13pm "I will not demand your confidence by a standing ovation but I will ask for a vote of confidence in my leadership. I will hand in a letter to the party's president to demand a secret vote on my leadership. I demand a secret vote from party councillors. If I enjoy your confidence and confrimed as leader I will continue governing until the end of government mandate"

12:11pm  "It is clear Joseph Muscat is more intent on earning power then working in the country's best interest. I have a duty to act in these circumstances. We cannot act as if nothing happened on Thursday. I will carry my responsability as I have always done. We cannot pretend nothing happen on Thursday and I make it clear that in order to continue leading this glorious party I need your confidence and the party's backing"

12:07pm "Instability will only come if the Opposition continues seeding doubts. Instability exists if there are huge protests and popular unrest which we luckily do not have in Malta.

12:04pm "I accept criticism because we are always open to improvements. However we should not forget the achievements of this party in government." 

12:01pm "The Opposition had the audicity to compare the current situation with the 1981 election when Labour governed the country against the people's will. This is scandalous. this Opposition is worse then Alfred sant's party and worse then past Labour party administrations. Unlike the Labour government in 1981, we will never govern for one extra day without the people's confidence. The day that will happen we will leave our seats. The current Labour party and many of its prominent members were part of the 1981 Labour government."

11:57am Gonzi likens the opposition's no-confidence motion to a "tear-gas" motion in yet another reference to the political violence of the 1980's.

11:56am Gonzi asks his party councillors whether they have ever heared the Opposition leader speak in this manner? "During Labour's general conference, Joseph Muscat should have spoken about his proposals and not his grandmother"

11:53am Gonzi is speaking about the economic achievements of his government and the difficulties Malta faces. Gonzi's speech will conclude the party's general council. Apart from Gonzi, the speakers were limited to the party's deputy leader, secretary general and president.

11:48am "This government's track redord on the economy deserves confidence. Results speak for themselves. We are beating the economic challanges thanks to the people's contribution."

11:45am "This week I said that since government lost the support of one of its own, I cannot say that it is business as usual. Therefore I said that I will call the party's highest organ and see whether I still enjoy the confidence of the party." This earns Gonzi another standing ovation and a big cheer.

11:43am "As long as I have your confidence I will continue governing."

11:40am "We are accused of being tied to power, but in reality it is the Opposition which has a hunger for power."

11:38am "This week we also witnessed a failed attempt by the Opposition to bring government down. They almost managed but they did not! They were sure they would manage to but they did not." This prompts another standing ovation.

11:36am "This week we witnessed a lack of an alternative government. There was no proposal mentioned by the leader of the Opposition. The only reson for the no-confidence was to trip government up by the means of somebody eleses vote."

11:34am "Why all this panic and haste? This week in parliament a member of government abstained. Is it clear Mr leader of the Opposition? He absteined!"

11:32am "Our desicions ensured that the country is not humiliated like other countries."

11:29am "These are not the best circumstances to hold an early election. I will not hold an election even though it might be the easiest option. I will not do anything which might cost the country jobs. At the moment we are still performing well, in spite of the difficult sitaution Europe and the rest of the world is going through."

11:25am "I do not agree that it is in the country's best interest to go to an early election. Not because we are scared of elections.Unlike the Opposition we have always respected the rules of democracy." Gonzi rallies the party councillors by reminding them of the political violence and situation in the 1980's. This is greeted by yet another standing ovation.

11:22am "This moment demands senerity, calm and political maturity. We have to ask ourselves what is the right thing to do in the country's interest."

11:21am "This council gives us the opportunity to meet the party councillors by convening the highest organ of the party."

11:19am In reference to a message recieved from the mother Gonzi says "This morning I recieved a vote of confidence". This is greeted by another standing ovation.

11:17am The Nationalist party leader recounts the experience of a mother of two disabled children.  

11:15am Lawrence Gonzi is to address the PN extraordinary general council. The national anthem is played before his address. The party faithful grant him the obligatory standing ovation.

11:14am "We are here to give a service and build upon the values on which this party is built."

11:06am Portelli is now speaking about government's achievments in the educational field. She also raises the spectre of university stipends by reminding what the Labour government did in 1996 and says "We should not let Labour fool us again" 

11:02am "In the absence of proposald from the Opposition, all I can analyse and speak about is the Nationalist party."

10:59am "We did not hear any sound reasons for the Opposition's motion of no-confidence."

10:58am "We are not perfect because the party is alive."

10:56am PN executive President Marthese Portelli addresses the conference.

10:55am "Elections are not an end but are only a means for us to make the country better. When you have principles you can never be on the losing side."

10:52am Borg Olivier is now singing the praises of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. "The Prime Minister has faith in everybody and has faith in the country."

10:47am "Joseph Muscat only looks backwards. He promises a new era in the same way Alfred Sant promised a new start."

10:42am "The leader of the Opposition has never come up with one proposal concerned with job creation. What are his proposals for pensioners and housewifes?"

10:39am In similar fashion to many MPs who addressed Parliament during the no-confidence debate, Paul Borg Olivier is listing the achievements of the current administration.

10:37am "Its a choice between the national interest and greed for power." Meanwhile, PN minister Austin Gatt walks in room where journalists are confined. He seems to be looking for access to the halls' gallery

10:36am "This is a time to make clear choices for the party and for the country."

10:34am PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier addresses the conference.

10:33am "I have at times been called demo-christian or a fundementalist, however I am proud to have introduced laws that eleiminated the reference to illegitimate sons and daughters, because all children are God's children"

10:30am "This shows that the oldest party in Malta welcomes with open arms reforms and new ideas, and it makes no difference if they come from within or outside the party."

10:28am "We are clearly in favour of discussing Constitutional reform. However the Opposition decided not to participate in the select-committee on democracy. These reforms cannot be introduced by the Nationalist party alone."

10:25am In clear reference to maverick MP Franco Debono who tabled a private members bill on party financing, Borg is now speaking about the law. "We are ready to discuss the law in Parliament. The private member's bill could be a good start for this discussion."

10:22am "We can have many soldiers, but only one gerneral."

10:21am "At Parliament's last sitting Joseph Muscat thought he will enter the House as leader of the Opposition and come out as Prime Minister. However he still came out of Parliament as leader of the Opposition."

10:18am Minutes are approved. Deputy leader Tonio Borg addresses the conference.

10:15am At a quick glance, the average age of PN councillors seems to be quite high.

10:12am PN assisitant secretary general Jean-Pierre Debono is reading the minutes from the previous general conference.

10:10am "The party deserves to govern and should continue governing the country"

10:08am Paula Mifsud Bonnici says the reason why this conference was convened was to discuss the political situation and rally behind the Prime Minister and his government to consolidate it.

10:05am The conference commences with Paula Mifsud Bonnici explaining the reason why the general conference was convened. At the first mention of Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat's name the councillors start booing.

10:02am Party leader Lawrence Gonzi arrives at the PN headquarters. The councillors chant "Gonzi, Gonzi"

9:57am PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier and deputy leader Tonio Borg walk down the middle aisle amongst applause of the party councillors and take a seat on stage. The stage is pretty bare with no slogan.

9:52am Most PN ministers and MPs present seem to be in an upbeat mood.

9:47am PN ministers and MPs are seated at the front. No sign of rebel MPs Franco Debono, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Jesmond Mugliett. A noisy hall full of party councillors is eagerly awaiting the conference to start. Councillors are constrained to stand in the aisles as there are no more seats available.  

9:40am Still no sign of the party leaders. PN assistant secretary-general Jean-Pierre Debono is the only person on stage. The conference should start soon. Journalists have been confined to a room above the hall's gallery, with no direct view of the hall.

9:34am The PN councillors are filling the seats at the PN headquarters in Pieta. A great sense of expectation can be tangibly felt amongst the party faithful. This could turn out to be one of the most important general conferences in the party's recent history.

8:40 Good morning! Welcome to our live-blog for the PN's general council: it will be a day dedicate to speeches that will focus on the strength of government's one-seat majority - shaken this week after MP Franco Debono abstained on a no-confidence vote by the Opposition - and one where Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will look for his party's support.