He said that as the country was about to celebrate the 40th anniversary of independence, the government was preparing the country for a total make-over with the aim of giving it a fresh image.

Speaking during a political meeting in Cospicua, with the theme Renewing ourselves for the future, Dr Gonzi compared the government plans to renew the country with works on the front door of a house.

“Instead of just applying another coat of paint to the door, as has been done in the past, when the good and bad parts both remained there, we are stripping off the old paint – that is the old work practices – from the country’s front door. After doing so, and this is where the pain will be felt, the country will have a fresh look and a fresh coat of paint will be applied to the bare wood. This will eventually see the country with totally new work practices and with increased potential for the future,” Dr Gonzi said.

He spoke at length of the different phases through which the country passed before reaching the point where it stands today. He said the first challenge was for Malta to become a nation and then that of changing its economy from one which depended on the British to one which was based on the country’s tourism and its industries.

He said the country then passed through a phase when democracy was at risk, especially between 1971 and 1986. “Post 1987, the country started a new era which saw the country strive to join the European Union, a dream which became reality in May this year when Malta become an EU member state. Now we are living through a phase when we are seeing the challenges the country has ahead, looking at them objectively and taking those decisions which need to be taken for the country to improve. These are not problems, they are challenges which should help us achieve a better country,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said the government was in full swing to improve the country and was tackling several important issues. He mentioned, among others, the country’s fiscal deficit, unemployment, the reform in the public sector and the pension and health systems.

Dr Gonzi criticised the Malta Labour Party, in particular its leader Dr Alfred Sant, for taking a negative approach to whatever happens in Malta and whatever the government was doing. He said Dr Sant is the only leader of a political party in the world who thinks that the pension system as it is in Malta should remain unchanged.

Dr Gonzi listed a number of projects which were undertaken by the government and which have either been completed or are in an advanced stage: the Upper Barrakka Gardens project, which was completed prior to the celebration marking Malta EU membership, the St George’s Bay rehabilitation, the Paceville project, the restoration of St Anne’s Gate and the surrounding bastions, the new lighting system for Fort St Angelo, the rehabilitation of St Thomas Bay and the regeneration of village centres.

Another project which is currently under way, he said, will see Malta’s old capital city of Mdina being given a new look with new paving. He said one should also not forget the extensive work being carried out on several arterial roads that are being built to European standards.

Dr Gonzi said that when one compares the Nationalist Party to the MLP, one immediately concludes that the MLP is not seeing the country’s potential and is more focused on demoralising the Maltese public with its negative attitude. “I was really hoping that after the public expressed itself in the referendum and then again in the general election, the MLP would change its attitude and that would see a change in making politics in Malta. But I was disappointed. We have a party that tries to take political advantage of whatever happens in this country,” he said.

Tonio Borg

Deputy PN leader Tonio Borg spoke about how local councils made a difference in Malta. He said the government will soon publish a number of suggestions which were made during a conference marking the 10th year since the introduction of local councils in Malta which would see an improvement in how local councils are managed.

He said the government sidelined nearly Lm11 million for the 68 local councils, which is nearly double that which the councils received when the MLP was in office. Moreover, he said, the councils were given alternative ways to generate their own revenue, apart from the traffic fines. He said last year local councils generated a further Lm700,000 thanks to the land the government passed on to them.

Dr Borg also spoke about the National Action Plan for Employment that was drawn up by the government. He mentioned how one in every three women in Malta were engaged in full- or part-time employment and how, thanks to the stipend system, the number of women at university increased drastically. He said that the document included a number of measures the government was proposing to encourage women to work.

Joe Saliba

PN secretary-general Joe Saliba took some time to explain that the government’s plan to renew the country was also the plan the PN had to improve its structures. He mentioned, among others, a restructuring process within Media.Link Communications, the company behind the party’s newspapers and television and radio station.

“The PN has always been the party which renewed itself and the country. The PN made Malta independent. The PN restored democracy in Malta. The PN was behind Malta building its freeport and its airport. The PN was behind Malta joining the European Union. And now the PN will be the party behind Malta being given a fresh look,” he said.

The president of the PN general council spoke about how the party and the government were two separate entities and have to be seen as so. He said that even though there was need for a lot of coordination between the two, the two entities had to be distinct from each other.