Back on the campaign trail yesterday morning and visiting shops in Birkirkara, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi observed brisk business being done while shop owners remarked how the euro changeover had proceeded smoothly and without complications.

Tasting cheese at the deli counter and meeting and greeting patrons and workers at Smart Supermarket, Dr Gonzi observed from his shop visits to a variety of businesses operating in different sectors earlier in the morning how soundings from business owners pointed to strong competition in the marketplace and that businesses were witnessing strong post-holiday business.

Turning to the issue of the euro changeover, feedback Dr Gonzi had received from the horse’s mouth yesterday morning was to the effect that the euro changeover had been smooth and that businesses and customers alike were now comfortable with Malta’s new currency.

He also remarked there was a strong belief in the country, as well as in its economy and society, among Malta’s businesses and entrepreneurs, and that the economic stimuli announced yesterday would go a long way toward further boosting economic activity.

The government, he said, would continue to work, as it has over the past months, to ensure consumers were paying fair prices for fair deals and that it would remain vigilant on price abuse. The Nationalist Party, he said, would continue working in conjunction with shop owners to this end and would not view them as thieves, as, he said, the Labour Party had been doing over the past weeks.

Faced with multiple threats on the horizon – from the spiked prices for oil and cereals to a looming US recession - Dr Gonzi pledged he and the PN would remain determined and courageous in rising to such challenges, as it had done over the last two years.