'Muscat is afraid to stick his neck out over anything' - Gonzi

The prime minister was in a jovial mood this evening, making light of the PN's much derided 'face-painting' billboard and taking the odd pot shot at opposition leader Joseph Muscat. He was speaking at a PN event held in Iklin.

"The PL may be wearing a blue tie but their faces are still red. I on the other hand am proud that my face is blue," Gonzi joked.

"I almost fell off my seat during the MCAST debate when I heard that Muscat was hoping to tap into the EU's youth guarantee scheme. That scheme is just for countries facing high unemployment levels. This is not the case in Malta," Gonzi proudly declared.

The prime minister said that his primary concern was whether he could create jobs for MCAST students, not whether they applauded or booed him.

"The ultimate aim is to have a government that is capable of creating employment. If we were capable of doing so despite the economic woes of the past five years, we will manage to do so again in the next five," Gonzi said.

Gonzi made reference to his earlier meeting with the Libyan pilot who defected at the start of the Libyan revolution.

"We had the courage to stick our necks out and make a decision for the greater good. I would have expected Muscat to have supported me and stuck his neck out too. Muscat's strategy is to always hold back and try to please everyone. He always plays to his audience and says what they want to hear in order to guarantee applause," Gonzi said.

The prime minister once again reminded those present that Joseph Muscat was not in favour of Malta entering the EU.

"Joseph Muscat voted against the EU and all the funds that we have obtained from it. Muscat claimed yesterday that he has worked in the European institutions for the good of Malta. The reality is that he tried to scupper the EU funding for the modernisation of the Sant Antnin plant," Gonzi said.

Gonzi appealed to voters to wisely weigh up their options, claiming to have an "advantage" seeing that the results achieved over the past five years were known to all.

"Your children have taken advantage of the education system provided by a PN government and gone on to find jobs. At the end of the day it all boils down to sage financial management. We could have given everything to everyone. If we had done that like all of Muscat's socialist idols Malta would have been in serious trouble," Gonzi said.