On top of the wide-ranging economic stimulus package announced at the outset of the Nationalist Party’s electoral campaign last week, “many more proposals have yet to come from the Nationalist Party over the coming weeks”, Prime Minister and Nationalist Party leader Lawrence Gonzi told an interview session broadcast on TVM last night.

“Listen well and make your choice,” Dr Gonzi advised, adding, “Our record is clear, the facts speak for themselves and the people will decide for themselves.”

Dr Gonzi was interviewed by six journalists in a session moderated by Martin Micallef as part of the Broadcasting Authority political series.

“On 8 March the people will make an important decision about whom they want to run the country for the next five years, and the decision needs to be taken responsibly.

“As a party, the PN believes in advancing the Maltese people and, unlike the Malta Labour Party is ready to compete with larger countries and not be scared of them. The PN believes in the potential of the Maltese people.”

“The government’s record over the last four years is clear, each time we set out to achieve something, we have succeeded,” Dr Gonzi said. “We have joined the EU and now the eurozone, which is perhaps the world’s strongest currency,” Dr Gonzi added. “There is, however, much more to do to improve life for the whole of Maltese society – from its youth to its elderly.

“This is the choice people have before them on 8 March.”

Questioned by The Malta Independent journalist Michael Carabott, about what the PN proposes doing for the 17,000 new voters taking to the polls for the first time, Dr Gonzi commented, “What we want is to see our children being the most advanced and to offer them the best the country can possibly give them. When it comes to children and education, the PN believes there are no political colours.”

The MLP, Dr Gonzi said, is proposing that each and every Maltese child repeats a years schooling – an entire year that can never be recovered. The party, he added, had not even bothered to consult the Malta Teachers’ Union before announcing the proposal.

“A reception class – that’s a good one,” Dr Gonzi observed. “The MLP does not want to mention repeating. But what does the proposal really mean? It means children who have just finished kindergarten and are ready to proceed to the primary level, would have to stay where they are instead of moving ahead.

“I am not perfect and I have made mistakes,” Dr Gonzi conceded. “But at least when I have made mistakes I have admitted them.

“The reception class proposal is a big mistake. With all the work we have done and the impetus we have given to education, Labour is saying ‘Let’s have them repeat a year’.

“On 8 March the people will decide – if they want children to repeat years of school, they can vote Labour.

“Before 1987 we had no computers in schools, and the people emerging from that educational system ended up at factories such as VF and Denim – they were the product of a socialist government’s failed policies. Look at what we have done at the university and MCAST, and at our initiatives to see students and teachers alike having the latest technologies at their fingertips.”

If it had been an MLP government in office over the last four years, Dr Gonzi observed, the country would not have the SmartCity project with the thousands of future jobs in the offing. The MLP had put the project down to mere land speculation. It even wanted to devalue the Maltese lira by 10 per cent.

“Five years ago,” he added, “the MLP said EU membership would be a disaster, that we would have been invaded by Sicilians taking our jobs, that our youth would be forced into the army and that missiles would be flying over our heads – these are the very same people who want to lead the country for the next five years.”

Questioned about allegations of corruption within the PN ranks, Dr Gonzi gave the accusation no quarter.

“Over the last four years, each and every allegation of corruption has been dealt with by the police commissioner or the relevant authorities. I have also personally requested investigations into allegations – and the results are there. When there have been grounds, arrests have been made, people have been taken to court and dealt with accordingly.”

False allegations, he added, have also been dealt with and these people have also had to answer for their actions before the courts.

“But the MLP, for all its talk, has never requested the police commissioner to look into the cases it speaks about. Putting all cards on the table, we have demanded investigations, even when ministers were involved. Why hasn’t the MLP done the same? The answer is simple – political convenience. This government has been open, transparent and accountable in all it has done.”

Answering a question about the recently-announced economic stimulus package and public finances, Dr Gonzi remarked, “The MLP looks at increased government revenue and simply assumes people are being taxed more. This is absolutely not true. What we did was reduce taxes to create higher levels of economic activity, which, in turn, provided more revenue for the government.

“Why is this so difficult for the MLP to understand? When it comes to political substance, you can look, but you do not find any with Labour.

“When the country’s finances were in the MLP’s hands, we had a record deficit. The MLP has no economic policies, the PN does – that is the difference between the two parties.”

Moreover, he added, the PN has the ability, stability and courage to face future challenges, while what the MLP is offering is instability and uncertainty - such as Alfred Sant’s pledge to reopen the EU accession package.

“Why does the MLP want to introduce this new element of uncertainty to the economy, especially for foreign direct investors? After the sound reputation we have built by joining the EU and the eurozone, the country certainly does not need that at this point.”

It is clear that there is bad weather on the horizon, he added, with an impending US recession, turmoil in the financial markets and the record prices for oil and cereals. Malta has been suffering the effect of oil prices for the past four years, but has withstood the crisis because the country’s economy was strong, “and when it is strong we can beat any competition,” he said.

“What we have done to face these future challenges, as several countries around the world have done, is to develop an economic stimulus package. Tax burdens are to be further reduced across the board and more money is being placed in people’s pockets. Additionally, when the economy grows, we all benefit.”

Taking another question about the future of Malta Shipyards, for which subsidies are to come to an end at the end of the year, as per EU rules, Dr Gonzi stressed there were no plans to downsize the workforce. The operations’ problem, he said, is that of productivity and that a future PN government would, at all costs, find the means with which to increase productivity and to get operations back on their feet.

Referring to the overtime controversy, Dr Gonzi clarified that the proposal to remove extra overtime allowances had, in fact, been made four years ago, during the failed social pact negotiations by the Malta Employers’ Association and had been backed by the UHM. The proposals had not come from the government, Dr Gonzi said, and the MEA’s Joe Farrugia has gone on record confirming the fact.

Questioned about the Good Causes Fund controversy drummed up by the MLP, Dr Gonzi stressed there was nothing wrong with funds having been used for children to watch the Juventus-Valletta FC match. “Football and, indeed, all sports build character. Instead of having to buy tickets at the full price, a way was found for them to be able to attend.

“The MLP even criticised the fact that the Juventus team visited me at my office. I believe in training our children, investing in them and this includes sports, which is also integral to raising our young.

“This is what the PN has done, and is ready to continue doing – and the people will be able to choose on 8 March.”