Gonzi says not voting at all is a vote for Labour

Reading and answering questions through the PN's social media initiative 'MyView', Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this morning said whoever chooses not to vote in the forthcoming general election will be voting for Labour.

Asked whether the erection of the party's billboards this week are an indication that the election is close, the Prime Minister said "No, but naturally we are at the end of the legislature during which we have weathered the storm and faced tough times. The time will come."

He went on to explain that billboards are part of the PN's campaign and a tool to convey its message.

In reference to the Labour Party's billboard campaign depicting the Prime Minister covering his ears and closing his eyes, Gonzi said "Students do not graduate because somebody is covering his ears but because somebody is listening carefully."

Tasked to explain why young voters should vote for the Nationalist Party, Gonzi said while the government weathered the storm, Labour leader Joseph Muscat was saying Malta should follow the Cypriot model, which has recently asked for a bailout for its banks.

Gonzi added that young voters, and not only, "know what the PN stands for because it can be judged by its actions in government. On the other hand the last time the people took a risk by voting for Labour, the country was driven to the ground."

The Prime Minister emphatically said "You know were you stand with us but you do not know where you stand with them [Labour]."

He added that if people decide not to vote in the next election it would equate to voting for Labour and the dark times the country went through under former Labour administrations.

"I do not scare people with the inexistent but with facts of what happened under former Labour administrations."

"So how can we trust our future with him [Muscat]. He is not offering alternatives but leaving it to the last five minutes of the game to see which way to go,"  Gonzi said.

Gonzi also said the City Gate project is planned to be completed by the end of the year and the new Parliament building should be ready by the beginning of 2013.

He also highlighted the importance of the decisions taken in July. Gonzi who has now shunned Nationalist Party public events for weeks, said that this month important and tough decisions were taken by the party and the country.

The PN leader acclaimed the draft law on IVF which was launched this week, and said the bill aims at regulating a completely unregulated situation, which allowed activities which are illegal in many other countries

Gonzi stressed that the law offers hope to childless couples and underlined the fact that the service will be offered for free at Mater Dei hospital.

He also noted that by the end of 2013, the interconnector which will link Malta to Sicily and the European grid will be completed. Gonzi explained that this will mean that the Marsa power plan can be switched off and energy will be produced through the new turbines at the Delimara power plant, the interconnector and photovoltaic panels.

Explaining that this project will create jobs, Gonzi added "the interconnector will mean that Malta is no longer completely dependent on volatile international oil prices and will be able to purchase energy at the best prices available on the market."

On Labour leader Joseph Muscat aspirations to become Prime Minister, Gonzi said that it seems that Muscat aspires to be Prime Minister when Malta holds the presidency of the EU.

Describing it as a "Damascene conversion" Gonzi warned that this was the same Muscat who campaigned against EU membership.