It was a return to his old stomping ground for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday as he attended a question and answer session at the University of Malta.

On his arrival, Dr Gonzi took time out to speak to some students on campus and in the canteen, after which he settled down for a debate in front of a good gathering of students.

Dr Gonzi said that 30 years ago, when he was still a university student, there were only 700 students. “The campus looks the same, but there were much fewer students than there are today. In the law course, there were 35 people, of whom only one was female,” he said. Dr Gonzi said that apart from studying, his campus life was mainly concerned with football and sports. “I was a bit of a football nut,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that he valued the opinions of students. “In fact, when it came to pension reform, the most pertinent suggestions came from the student body at university,” he said.

He urged all the students present to log into his website, www.lawrencegonzi.info, in order to take part in the discussion forum. “Even if it to criticise us,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said that stipends were definitely there to stay. “We are even pushing up the stipends for studies in particular fields because there is such a demand for employment,” he said. Dr Gonzi said that various sectors were crying out for employable graduates, such as in accountancy and the medical profession.

“We also need to address the problem of space at the university. But these are the problems that success brings. I prefer it to be jam-packed rather than empty,” said the Prime Minister. He said that if the university is extended, then more investment will be needed for facilities and staff. He made a Freudian slip, “We need bigger lecturing halls and bigger lecturers (lecturers ikbar).” An undertone of giggling broke out and rather than be taken aback by it, the PM noticed his slip and began to giggle with the crowd.

The Prime Minister said that it was thanks to EU membership that people were getting better jobs. “The EU offers stability and seriousness and we have now also adopted the euro to further consolidate our position,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said that Opposition Leader Alfred Sant has not yet gone on the record to say that the EU is a good thing for Malta. “We have been members for four years and still he has not made that declaration,” he said.

He also said that the MLP sought division in matters of national importance. “When we had the Denim and VF crises, the MLP said it would have manipulated figures (inbazwru) so as to subsidise the companies,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said the MLP was also creating uncertainty and instability by telling voters that it was going to renegotiate the EU package for Malta. “This cannot be done and the Labour leader is irresponsible for saying it,” he said. The Prime Minister went on to describe the various tax cuts that the PN had introduced two years running. “The first time was in budget 2007 and that was Lm12 million (e28 million), the second a year later was worth Lm15 million (e35 million) and if we are returned to office, the next one will be worth Lm20 million (e46 million). It’s so simple. Work more, pay less. It pays dividends for all concerned and stimulates the economy,” he said.