The informatics industry was being harmed by the capricious refusal of the government, through Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt, to refuse the Labour Party’s invitation for a national consensus on informatics, as had been done by the two parties in the 1990s, MLP IT spokesman Leo Brincat said yesterday.

The decision, he said, would be sending negative signals abroad. Major operators in the sector, Mr Brincat said, had been approached by people in senior positions who told them that if Labour were elected, their informatics business would collapse, that Labour would dismantle the MyPotential and other schemes, and to use their vote wisely and inform their employees about the repercussions of a Labour election.

The ball was now in the Prime Minister’s court to say clearly if he accepted Dr Gatt’s negative reply, Mr Brincat said. His reply was awaited with urgency by various foreign and local operators in informatics. If Dr Gonzi remained silent, he added, it would be taken as a confirmation of being an accomplice in this negative campaign which put votes before the national interest.