Updated | Gonzi says Labour’s future ‘will take us back in time’

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi hit out at Labour for claiming to seek unity in the future "but in reality they have been advocating divisive politics for the past four years."

Talking about Labour's slogan 'A future that unites us,' the Prime Minister said Labour's overtly negative attitude confirmed that "Labour's future will take the country back to the past."

The PN leader was speaking on the party's radio station, where he was interviewed by Where's Everybody journalist Rachel Attard and The Malta Independent editor and Net Television presenter Stephen Calleja.

Gonzi hit out at offensive rants and comments uttered by former Labour minister Joe Grima and other Labour exponents on Facebook.

In direct reference to  a spoof image of Lawrence Gonzi's face, pasted on the ceremonial uniform former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi by Labour councillor and official Rachel Tua, Gonzi said "I am not interested in Tua's actions but the Labour Party's assent shows the party's true colours and a lack of respect."

Asked whether he is worried about the government's stability in light of the motion of no confidence in health minister Joe Cassar tabled by maverick MP Franco Debono, Gonzi said he is concerned but insisted that his focus remains the creation of jobs, education and health.

"Labour and Joseph Muscat have predicted early elections 23 times in the last four years. I cannot deny that I am concerned about our internal problems, however albeit all this, the government has created more jobs, opened new schools, expended Mcast and University and invested more money in health services," Gozni said.

The PN leader stressed that his job is to guarantee a good education to families and not talk about PN internal problems.

Insisting that the country is stable, Gonzi said this has been confirmed by Moody's positive rating, the record achieved in tourist arrivals and statistics showing an increase in the gainfull occupied.

"I am not belittling these matters and the Nationalist Party addressed these problems in democratic way. I would rather not have faced such problems but unfortunately we had to do so, but we could not take our eyes off the ball. Work, education and health are the most important matters for our families," Gonzi added.

In reply to Calleja's question whether the recent death of former Labour premier Dom Mintoff will have an effect on the looming general election, Gonzi said that while Mintoff deserved to be treated with dignity and respect in his death, "we cannot allow Labour to re-write history by hiding historical facts."

Gonzi described Mintoff as the "most controversial figure for the Nationalist Party" and a "symbol of division and violence."

Asked whether he intends to present the 2013 Budget by the end of October, the Prime Minister said the budget preparations are underway and is on course to be presented by the end of October or beginning of November. However, he did not give a clear indication of a date.

The Prime Minister also talked about his experiences with Mintoff, when he was Speaker of the House and had the opportunity to travel with the former Labour strongman.

"The Nationalist Party treated Mintoff's funeral with dignity, in total respect of the human being, whoever she or he is, whatever the colour of the skin, whatever the political beliefs. That is what should have been done and that is what we did," Gonzi said.

In reference to his speech to a meeting of fellow Christian-democrat leaders of the European People's Party, in Florence, Gonzi explained his appeal for a 'back to basics' return to values of human dignity, responsibility, togetherness, solidarity and subsidiary, and the common good.

Calling for responsibility, the PN leader explained "it is a good thing to save money, it is a good thing to invest but it also important not to spend more then one can afford," adding that such choices must be taken at both micro and macro levels.

At the end of the interview, the Prime Minister also spoke about the forthcoming Parliamentary debates on the cohabitation and IFV laws.

He explained that the two bills were only presented at the end of the legislature because of the lengthy consultation processes and insisted on the State's obligation to regulate.

On cohabitation, first proposed by the PN in its 1998 electoral manifesto, Gonzi said: "The State must legislate and regulate the relationships of both heterosexual and homosexual persons in cohabitation."

He added that such matters are "delicate" and it would be a mistake to label relationships. "This is a cohabitation bill and not a law on marriage. Let us move away from controversy and ensure that all persons living in cohabitation have clear obligations and rights."

On the 2008 electoral pledge to slash income tax by 10%, Gonzi said: "I would have liked to maintain my electoral pledge to cut income tax by 10% as it would have been hugely popular. The economic reality did not permit it and we responsibly chose not to ratify the pledge."

Gonzi however added that his government introduced a number of measures, which have benefited a number of sectors, including parents, and women who returned to work.

He added that prior to the last elections, storm clouds were seen on the horizon, but no one could have anticipated the severity of the economic crisis which the world, including Malta, faced.

The Prime Minister predicted that the crisis is far from over and it would take "four or five years for Europe to recover."

Gonzi defended the government's claim that it created 20,000 jobs in the past four years, claiming "Labour is completely wrong in claiming that less jobs were created."

He said that Labour's claim that only 9,000 jobs had been created simply did not make sense because otherwise unemployment figures would have been far higher.

Gonzi said Labour's gloom suffered three blows this week, following ratings agency Moody's praise for the government's policies, the increase in the gainfully occupied and the record number of tourist arrivals.

Despite Malta's official exit from recession, Gonzi warned that although the announcement was "heartening," Malta was not out of the woods since its markets for export and tourism were still in crisis.

"We need to continue taking the right decisions in order to create jobs and sustain education and health, among other sectors," Gonzi said.

On recent controversies surrounding the health services, Gonzi said Malta needed to sustain medical services through economic growth and by removing subsidies which were unnecessary.

Without identifying the unnecessary subsidies, he said that "the funds going to unnecessary subsidies should be channelled to more important areas."

Referring to the resignation of Stephen Brincat from the post of Director of Oncology, Gonzi said he had the highest admiration and respect for Brincat and explained that the oncology expert disagreed with various administrative decisions taken by the government.

Dismissing claims of political interference in the running of medical services, Gonzi said: "I respect Brincat's medical judgement but differences existed over administrative matters."

Additionally, Gonzi said he could not understand how the issue of two deaths from suspected chemotherapy toxicity were raised at this moment.

He also warned that health services cannot remain sustainable if Labour leader Joseph Muscat kept all the promises he made in the past four years.

"We must keep offering health services for free wherever possible...however the country's interests must come before everything else even if it not popular," Gonzi said.