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Gonzi says a Labour government ‘would set us back 30 years’
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi says a Labour government has a history of high rates of unemployment and economic stagnation.
5 August 2012, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
2 min read
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi warns Labour has not changed, despite the revamp of its image
During a 30-minute interview, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi warned off voters from voting for a Labour government, insisting that it had a history of "discouraging and scaring off investment".
He said that their track record was proof enough to see that Labour "would set us back 30 years".
He said that the Labour government had supported monopolies and forked out millions in subsidies to sustain companies that were no longer viable.
"During the two years they were in government between 1996 and 1998, they managed to increase Malta's rate of unemployment to high levels; while other countries were moving forward fast, we were falling behind," Gonzi said.
"Look at the today: we have created 20,000 jobs; we are continuously attracting investment and, despite the financial storm which brought big countries down to their knees, we have the EU's certificates that our economy is strong."
Gonzi said the PL just didn't want to accept these facts.
"It simply doesn't want to admit our positive track record. They are now trying to find different ways on how to belie statistics that we created those jobs," he said, commenting that the PL "doesn't know how to count".
Gonzi said Labour's attempt at rubbishing statistics wasn't doing it any good.
As he listed the various government investments in the different economical sectors, Gonzi accused Labour of "having a history of economic stagnation".
He went on to draw comparisons between the number of students who continued studying beyond the secondary level and those who graduated from University in the 80s and today.
"Despite the financial turmoil, 4,000 students graduated - maybe 450 students used to graduate from university during their time," he said.
Gonzi turned his criticism towards Pl leader Joseph Muscat, reiterating that if he had followed Muscat's advice on the handling of the country's finances, "we would have ended up like Cyprus".
He said that he had always been "sceptic" of Muscat for first being against Malta's accession to the European Union and then changing his mind.
"Then Muscat came from Brussels, took over the PL and started giving advices. He said Malta should be like Cyprus and his idol was former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero - both countries were now struggling, with Spain having the highest rate of unemployment," Gonzi said.
"Muscat's models always failed."
The Prime Minister went on to speak on how government had invested in parks and open areas to improve the island's quality of air and provide spaces where children and families could enjoy their time.
"And when we look around us we can see how we are improving our environment - and so we should not only be looking at the billboards," he said in a dig towards the current battle of the billboards going on between the two rival political parties.
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
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Is-soltu diska tal-Partit Nazzjonalista , li jbezza lill-poplu , tattika li kienet dejjem l-arma ta' dan il-partit mimli korruzzjoni bħall ma kien dejjem .
Gonzi qed jgħid li jekk jitla il-Partit Laburista fil-Gvern , jitfa lill-Malta 30 sena lura . Sur Prim Ministru , nahseb li kieku jkun jaqbel ghall-kaxxa ta Malta , ghax ikollha il-flus fiha u mhux mifquha b'xi €5,000,000 DEJN .
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Ghaziz Gonzipn int hsibt li n-nies huma mzazen? Iva hares naqra lejn il-blog li ghal grazzja tieghek il-poplu se jkollu jhallas il-miljuni kbar sabiex il-power station li toqtol, u li int hloqt, tigi ikkonvertita ghal gas li tal-Labour ilhom jghidulek snin shah sabiex taghmel dan. Imma int kulhadd jaf li int min ghalik li int xi genju u ma tifhem f'xejn. U iva mitt miljun l'hawn u mitt miljun l'hemm, mur ara.
Issa nerga nistiednek ghal blog iehor fil-gazetta habiba tieghek it-Times fejn gie irrapurtat li l-SGS tilfet mal-miljun dollaru f'xoghol minhabba qtugh fl-elettriku. Nispera li ma tigiex b'xi wahda bhal dak ic-cuc ministru li ghandek u tghid li minhabba it-tarmac. dawn l-affarijiet minbarra elf haga ohra DIGA haduna 50 (u mhux 30) sena lura .
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Is Dr Gonzi playing Nostradamus now, and attempting to predict the future? I wonder why he hasn't starting using his visionary powers earlier. When for example he declared a decrease in income tax, didn't he have a recession at the door, why did he list it in the electoral program or when he opted for heavy fuel oil for the Delimara power station instead of gas, wasn't the writing on the wall? Given his tried and tested record at prediction, Dr.Gonzi is quite a failure.
Luke Camilleri •
If only that was true and Malte had the assets and it's coffers full as these were 30 years ago!G
All we got from past PN administration is spending and spending and spending and just living beyond our means and we got deficits and deficits and deficits EVEN IN THE GonziPN pool of talent with even DR. GONZI ADMITTING WITH THE AMERICAN AMBASSAFOR - THAT HE HAD A LIMITED POOL OF TALENT FROM WHERE TO CHOSE HIS MINISTERS!
Do us a favour Gonzi, just move over, Malta cannot afford you and your oligarchy any more.... even your Back-Bench and Independent Candidate JPO say so!
Igor P. Shuvalov •
According to , you know who, Labour government, had a history of "discouraging and scaring off investment" and "having a history of economic stagnation".. And yet when the Nationalist Party took over the administration they found the coffers of the Island overflowing and they managed to change all that credit into the biggest debit our Islands ever had.
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Since the PN is still living in the 1960s that means we would then relive the second world war :)
Come on PN is that really the best you can do?! Stop this fear mongering and do some work for a change!
Now Malta may be overtaken by Vietnam in decriminalizing same-sex couples -- someting the PN has only talked about for close to 20 years!!!
Time for change and it cannot be soon enough!!!
Zack Depasquale •
Thirty Years ago, Air Malta was running smoothly with cwiec Maltin heading it, Malta Drydocks was employing thousands of skilled workers, common workers were given plots next to nothing and building mansions, yes we had jobs in emergency corps but the jobs were not of the precarious type, we had new factories setting up shop in Malta, remember SGS, we had Sea Malta. We also had trade schools which produced some of the best trades people on the Island, tourism was booming, and best of all Malta had over 1.5 billion Euros in its coffers, so maybe going back thirty years is not such a bad idea.
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@niko001..x ghamiltli man hajjartni ta. Anke jien ha nivvota lil gonzipn.Jien ikolli 20 sena, zmien ta veru!! MELA L-AHWA JEKK TRIDU TICKIENU U SSIRU ZAGHZAGH MIL GDID, MINN HU TAMPARNA.... IVVOTA LABOUR. !!!!!!!!!
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Imma kif ma tisthijx titkellem gonz? Int qed tghid li il-Labour johodna 30 sena lura? Hares biss lejn il billboard li uzajtu tal partit nazzjonalista u ir-risposta wahdek tohodha.
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Dr.Gonzi's sermons are getting scarier by the minutes. Does he knows that we are living in 2012? It is more than evident that the prime minister have nothing to boost about his four years in government and is only gripping to 30 years old selected stories before sinking. Have you nothing to say about JPO, Franco and Mugliett amongst others?
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Sur Gonzi "BIEX TISKONGRA TRID TKUN PUR" Il-paroli bla bla bla tieghek ma ghadu jhalli l-ebda efett fuqnha li sa ftit ilu konnha nivvutawlek. Ahseb u ara fuq haddiehor. Inti jekk xejn verament mexxejt l-pagi 'l quddiem...pero tieghek u tal Ministri tal-bigilla li ghandek mdawrin mieghek mhux tal-poplu. Hallina tridx.
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Sur Gonzi "BIEX TISKONGRA TRID TKUN PUR" Il-paroli bla bla bla tieghek ma ghadu jhalli l-ebda efett fuqnha li sa ftit ilu konnha nivvutawlek. Ahseb u ara fuq haddiehor. Inti jekk xejn verament mexxejt l-pagi 'l quddiem...pero tieghek u tal Ministri tal-bigilla li ghandek mdawrin mieghek mhux tal-poplu. Hallina tridx.
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Mr Gonz, in a democracy, the people should decide that not you. You are only one person. Talk about what matters to the maltese, like how are we going to address illegal migration and not how far back will labour take us. We all know that when it comes to finances, Brussels is pulling all the strings.
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The PM cannot take the role of a fortune teller. His fantasy of telling you the future by taking us thirty years backwards does not has any scientific value. Hisrole is to tell his plans and how his Government will solve the defecit and reduce the national debt; how to cut the long list of queues for all gvoernment services; how to improve our main and secondary roads; reduce bureaucracy; fight the war on drugs; fight illegal immigration and human trafficing; and create work for the 60,000 females to be placed in the economy.
The fear doctrine has always failed and it will fail in Malta as everyone knows that Labour has positively changed to make Malta work and competitive.
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GonziPN has thrown the country back 500 years - right back to the dark ages. A utopia for the church with unparalleled privileges - and a hell on earth for intelligent human beings. His uncle must be very proud.
So if Labour send us back 30 years - by my calculations the country would have moved FORWARDS by 470 years - just by getting rid of Gonzi. Now that is a good deal!
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That is what i wish to go back 30 years. At least Malta had O DEBTH and everybody had cash in his hands.
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30 years is better than a 100 years back ,because that is what Gonzi Pn and his mob of yes sir men and money thirsty friends of friends have brought this country to.Poverty is a common word today in the year 2012 ,Grazzi Gonzi but once a liar always a liar.
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We need to go 30 years back especially on the "Whistle Blower's ACT". There is a lot of DIRT that needs to be excavated, hoping that Justice is done with one and ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.
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It is very hard to make your assessments believable when your MP’s are fighting amongst themselves, your executive has banned 3 MP’s from standing for re-election (Very democratic), you have lost your majority to govern, been caught with your noses in the public trough (500 Euros), your propaganda is in tatters, your ministers and consultants are legislated failures and personally has taken the good ship Gonzipn into a merciless political storm where the sails are torn, the rudder is broken and the compass has fallen overboard.
Maybe its wishful thinking to look back at 30 years ago when Maltese was a distinct society without the burden of harboring illegal immigrants, minimal national debt and State entities that contributed to the national budget rather than draining the tax payers hard earned contributions to appease the circle of oligarchs that mandate to Castille how to run this island.
To your credit you have insisted to join the Eurozone without hesitation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the Euro will eventually survive.
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Ghaziez Prim Ministru
Tajt xtajt u tghamel xtghamel kollu ghal xejn ghax it tmiem tijak u ta shabek wasal flahhar u lebda gidba u storja mu ser tibdel il Polz tal Poplu malti li xebha
B'laroganza tijak t ta Certi Ministri li ghandek aktar ma tigdeb aktar ghandek xtitlef
Fliemkien kollox Possibli
Flahhar tal Mazzita ser isib Lizbiba taf xihni UMILJAZZJONI kBIRA GEJJA GHALIK
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It is becoming very evident that the Prime Minister's advisors have gone stale and lost the punch. The heading of this article explains it all.
Stefan Mifsud •
Unfortunately, the longer our PM continues to blatantly lie to us all the more his credibility digs itself deeper and deeper. Two things: the 20,000 jobs. The NSO and the EU have categorically confirmed that this is pure fiction. So according to our PM these two entities do not know how to count.
Second, PL would set us all back 30 years. The facts: Like it or not, agree with it or not, 30 years ago we as a Maltese nation owned Mid Med bank, The airport, Sea Malta, Middle Sea Insurance, Malta Post, and a host of other companies. All this without one cent (Malta Liri or Euro) in debt. 25 years on of mostly PN governments all our country's' silver has been sold off mostly to foreigners AND, and this is a very important AND now we have about 7 Billion of Euros (that is 7,000,000,000 Euros) in debt which equates to Euros 17,000 for each Maltese person (including babies and all). So, if a new PL would take us back to having all the family silver back in our possession and myself and my kids will not have the 17,000 Euro Government debt which we have to pay sometime in the future, I would be more then happy.
Stefan Mifsud •
Unfortunately, the longer our PM continues to blatantly lie to us all the more his credibility digs itself deeper and deeper. Two things: the 20,000 jobs. The NSO and the EU have categorically confirmed that this is pure fiction. So according to our PM these two entities do not know how to count.
Second, PL would set us all back 30 years. The facts: Like it or not, agree with it or not, 30 years ago we as a Maltese nation owned Mid Med bank, The airport, Sea Malta, Middle Sea Insurance, Malta Post, and a host of other companies. All this without one cent (Malta Liri or Euro) in debt. 25 years on of mostly PN governments all our country's' silver has been sold off mostly to foreigners AND, and this is a very important AND now we have about 7 Billion of Euros (that is 7,000,000,000 Euros) in debt which equates to Euros 17,000 for each Maltese person (including babies and all). So, if a new PL would take us back to having all the family silver back in our possession and myself and my kids will not have the 17,000 Euro Government debt which we have to pay sometime in the future, I would be more then happy.
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So according to Gonzi, PL will put us 30 years back, therefore I will be voting labour so that I will be 16 once again and maybe 50 kg less as well. U mur u hallina u itlaq l'hemm (with apology to Freddy Portelli)
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If there is someone who failed it is you Gonzi...because you lied to the Maltese people... remember the 600 E behind our backs...when you told us to make the sacrifices? and all you gave us was 1E16c!! And how you voted with all your heart against the tariffs and divorce?? And the precarious and lousy jobs around...what do you call those? And smart city? and the promises to the dockyard, seamalta , airmalta and Go employees??? You lied Gonzi to get power and therefore you failed. Your great-uncle ruined the church's reputation. You managed to ruin the reputation of the PN and put the whole country in a disgusting system of corruption and inefficiency! Besides we don't care of 30 years ago...! Why don't you become a history teacher? Please Gonzi...please.... VANISH! (apologies for netiquette)
