Malta news: austerity to growth

Gonzi puts himself to the test
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi insisted yesterday that calling an early general election was not in the national interest, but he has requested that a party leadership contest be held as soon as possible, essentially putting his leadership under the scrutiny of the Nationalist Party’s general council. In a letter presented to Paula Mifsud Bonnici, president of the general council, at the end of an extraordinary meeting yesterday morning, Dr Gonzi wrote that in light of the latest developments in parliament, he is duty-bound to do all he can to ensure that government is focused on facing the huge challenges posed by the current international situation. “I need to do all I can to ensure we have a solution that leads us to the end of the legislature, thus respecting the choice the people made in March 2008.” He said he is constitutionally duty-bound to continue to serve, but will only do so if he knows for sure that he has the support of the party councillors.(independent.com.mt)

Muscat says PM is clinging to power: Gonzi needs majority in parliament, not in his party
The Labour Party has continued to insist that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is clinging to power and in reaction to his decision to call for a PN leadership contest, the PL said Dr Gonzi needs a majority in parliament, not in his party. In a statement, the PL said the prime minister’s behaviour is contributing to further uncertainty and delaying the political crisis. What happened yesterday confirms that a clique has taken over the PN and the country, said the Labour Party, adding that after losing the parliamentary majority, Dr Gonzi is trying to delay his government’s agony by playing games in the GonziPN system. The prime minister is putting the party before parliament, which is the central institution of democracy. Earlier, during a political activity in Marsaxlokk, Dr Muscat said that while the prime minister is clinging to power, the Opposition is clinging to and listening to the people. “It is encouraging that the PL movement is again on the right side of history,” he said, noting that the party’s crucial aim is to ensure that the country is stable. Every other consideration is secondary, because there can be no investment and job creation without stability.(independent.com.mt)

EU needs to move from austerity to growth, PM tells summit
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told an EU summit this evening that the EU needs to move from austerity to growth. Citing various economic successes registered by Malta in the past months despite the negative international climate, Dr Gonzi said that there had to be a balance between fiscal discipline and economic growth. "The Maltese government believes that the EU must avoid getting trapped into a vicious circle of austerity, contracting economies, falling tax revenue, rising deficit and debt ratios and more austerity. The EU's way forward should be built on a balance of general macro-economic stability, structural reforms in order to ensure sustainability, unburden enterprise, reward work, free markets and to generally improve productivity and competitiveness levels." Dr Gonzi gave EU leaders an overview of Malta's economic achievements in the past year. He said that in a year dominated by the financial crisis, Malta made a clear choice in favour of macro-economic stability. This gave positive results.(timesofmalta.com)

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