A few hours after making these comments, Dr Gonzi said, Labour leader Alfred Sant reacted by saying that the PN was a party founded on lies. “The election is still distant so why shouldn’t we sit down and agree on the crucial matters,” he said.

Previous experiences of cooperation, such as with the financial services legislation, show that landmark work can be produced if both sides do their part, Dr Gonzi said.

Dr Gonzi was speaking at a party activity in Balzan, also addressed by Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea and PN MP Mario de Marco.

From a country that did not have much of a good reputation with the international community in the sector, Malta was turned into an exemplary financial services centre, thanks to the work of both the government and the opposition, he said.

Echoing passages of speeches he has made in recent days, Dr Gonzi said that the country is at a juncture and is going through a radical renewal process that will ensure its success in the future. “For the most part we have turned the corner,” he said, “there is much more work to be done, however economic indicators show that we are on the right path.”

Nationalist governments have never feared change, Dr Gonzi said. Instead they have ushered it. He said that the country was going through a process of reform that is necessary for it to maintain the pace of the progress made since independence, 40 years ago.

Making reference to the health sector, he said that Malta had one of the best health services in the world and that there was need to analyse the system in order to ensure its sustainability in the future. He said that reform brings with it opportunities for economic growth. Taking the pensions reform as an example, he said this could lead to the emergence of new economic activity and possibly incentives for better levels of contribution.

The government drew up a number of strategies with which, he said, it will be tackling various areas of the economy. He mentioned the National Employment Plan and the Social Exclusion Plan, saying that a number of concrete measures have been identified in both plans.

Cabinet will now discuss ways with which to finance these measures in the 2005 budget, he said. Then the government will evaluate the effectiveness of the measures implemented after the first six months since their introduction. Based on this analysis, it will be decided whether particular measures should be increased, amended or dropped.

During his speech, Dr Gonzi also mentioned figures which, he said, showed that the country was on the right track. He said latest figures from the Employment and Training Corporation showed that the number of people registered on part one of the unemployment list stood at 7,400, which is 600 less than the number registered during the same period in 1999, he said.

It is still not time to celebrate, he added, saying that even one person who is genuinely looking for work should still be cause for concern. However these are encouraging signs, he added.

There was also a 10 per cent improvement in the budget deficit during the first six months of this year when compared to the same period last year. Investment in the manufacturing sector is up by 20 per cent as is employment, up by 312, he said. A report by Deloitte for the Malta Hotels and Restaurants’ Association also showed that the sector is starting to make improvement and is gradually coming out of recession.

Added to this, he said one has to take into account the money invested by private enterprises. Taking investment in hotels alone, he said, there are Lm50 million worth of investments being made. He said there are also the Cottonera waterfront project, the cruise passenger terminal in Valletta and the work at Tignè and Manoel Island, which combine a total of Lm170 million worth of investments. “All this is a vote of confidence in the country,” he said.

With regard to foreign investment, Dr Gonzi said the Malta Enterprise had given the green light to six pharmaceutical companies that should set up their factories and be operational by next year. These factories alone will bring an investment of Lm12 million, he said. Moreover, Malta Enterprise had also processed other applications from foreign investors to set up shop in Malta to the tune of Lm32 million.

During the first six months this year there was an increase in the number of enterprises set up – from 1,486 last year to 1,950. The figures from the consumer sector were also encouraging, Dr Gonzi pointed out. There was a 30 per cent increase in the number of mobile phone subscriptions this year, up to 296,000. There was also a surge in internet subscriptions, up to 80,000, he added.

There is more work to be done, Dr Gonzi insisted. If the country stops pushing for more, then it will be left behind. However, we are already in a good position and it is good to acknowledge this fact, he added.

Making reference to the unstable situation of international oil prices, Dr Gonzi mentioned some potential problems that might eat away at the progress made by the country in these last years. “We are not the only government worrying about this problem but this makes us cautious of our optimism at the results achieved so far.”

There are problems over which government does not have control, he pointed out. In this connection, he mentioned the rise in the number of illegal immigrants who have flocked to the island this year. “What can you do if there is a ship with 190 illegal immigrants experiencing difficulties, as happened on Friday?”

He explained that the Armed Forces of Malta offered to disembark all the passengers but while the first 90 were taken to shore, the remaining 100 continued their voyage to Sicily. “Certainly we have to work within the parameters of our possibilities and also of the help we can get from the European Union and other sources, but after all, this is a challenge to our core values which we cannot turn down,” he said in conclusion.