Gonzi announces new initiatives as he insists on need to be closer to the people

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi made a public show of his support for home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, thanking him for his integrity and sense of duty as the minister faces a motion of censure moved by the Opposition, Wednesday coming.

Stopping short of saying whether Mifsud Bonnici will remain minister after Wednesday's vote on the Opposition's censure motion, if it passes, Gonzi said the party still had faith in Mifsud Bonnici.

Addressing party councillors during the party's General Council on Sunday, Gonzi warned against complacency and taking anything for granted in an upcoming genera election.

"The confidence we have in our people is reciprocal. We have overcome recent troubles thanks to the confidence the people have in us," Gonzi said.

"We have overcome the dangers which afflicted the rest of Europe thanks to our policies which were opposed by Labour and thanks to the confidence we have in the people."

Gonzi lauded the utility of the new media initiatives the PN was taking. He said the PN will be launching an initiative on Facebook, called MyVoice.pn where people will be able to communicate with the party. He said justice and public dialogue minister Chris Said will be running this new project. Gonzi urged everyone to make use of "this direct line of communication with me and the party."

"We have confidence in the people and in their ability to make the right choices. I am indebted to the Maltese people because my family and I have only achieved what we have achieved so far because of the right choices the people have made," he said.

"We have to do the same. We must roll up our sleeves, meet people, listen to people and understand and respect the people. If we do so, we will show that we have confidence in them. We can then turn on them when the time comes and ask them to return the confidence. Only then will they choose us again to govern the country."

Making reference to Labour's track record, Gonzi mentioned episodes of violence, including the death of the person at the Police headquarters.

"On the other hand we are not ashamed of our past," Gonzi said to loud applause. The PN leader stood in front of a number of young persons in a clear indication that both the PN and Labour are targeting young and first time voters.

"Work, education and health are the three pillars on which our policies are built," Gonzi said.

"Youth" and "education" featured throughout Gonzi's speech and at one point the Prime Minister said "I wish I could embrace the 20,000 new university graduates," Gonzi said, boasting of the level of investment and the results achieved in the education sector, citing the new Mcast campus as a prime example of government's commitment in the sector.  

Explaining that the party's policies wereshaped on the well-being of each individual person and "in the best interests of our families", Gonzi said the government has taken a number of initiatives to safeguard the future of everyone.

In a low-key address, Gonzi listed a number of initiatives in different sectors, including education, health and job creation, which he said "will shape your individual future, according to your needs, aspirations and talents."

"These principles have guided us in the last few years to always be on the right side of history. On the other hand, the Labour Party has almost naturally been on the wrong side. This happened when we had to make a choice on Independence, EU membership and the freedom of church schools."

Gonzi described the Opposition as "socialists" on a number of occasions in a clear attempt to equate Joseph Muscat's party to "the dark days of socialism."

He added that Labour's short stint in government in 1996 was an embarrassment because while all European countries, including Turkey wanted to join the EU, the Labour government had frozen Malta's EU membership application.

The PN's general council theme is 'Fiducja, fik u f'uliedek' (Confidence, in you and your children). Gonzi said the main difference between the Nationalist and the Labour parties is that his party talks about confidence while the Opposition only talks about no confidence. He said the Opposition's Parliamentary motions of no-confidence in the government and a number of ministers are proof of this.