Gonzi ashamed of Muscats Egypt comment - timesofmalta.

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Monday, February 7, 2011 by Kurt Sansone

Gonzi ashamed of Muscats Egypt comment

Lawrence Gonzi said he was ashamed of the Labour leaders declaration that Malta should take advantage of instability in north Africa to attract more tourists. Joseph Muscats comments should be condemned because they show his superficiality and lack of understanding of what is in the countrys best interest, the Prime Minister charged, accusing the Labour leader of failing to see the bigger picture. Addressing the party faithful at the Nationalist Partys club in Birkirkara yesterday, Dr Gonzi said it was important to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Tunisia and Egypt in this time of difficulty. A clip of Dr Muscats controversial comment was played before the Prime Minister stepped in to wish that the aspirations of the Egyptian people would be met without further loss of life. The national interest was best served by having stability in the Mediterranean region, he added, and not by trying to take temporary advantage of other peoples suffering. Despite both he and other speakers peppering their comments with reminders that the election was still two years away, towards the end of the hour-long meeting the Prime Minister was evidently in electoral fighting mode. He fired up the crowd with a long list of ills the country had to face in the 1970s and 1980s under a Labour government and accused the opposition of wanting to re-write history by harping on what it believed were the glory days. Dr Gonzis list of shame included the employment strategy of creating a government corps under military discipline, import restrictions that stopped people from enjoying simple pleasures like a bar of foreign chocolate, restrictions on colour televisions, the fear of walking around with the PN newspaper in hand and the fear of being arrested and not knowing whether a person would be still in one piece after being arrested. There are some who are saying the 1970s and 1980s were better than today... but we will not allow anybody to re-write history, Dr Gonzi said to rousing applause. His criticism was a reference to statements made throughout the week in the Labour Partys general conference about the social reforms undertaken by successive Labour administrations in the 1970s. Dr Gonzis tirade also follows the recent Labour portfolio reshuffle which saw MP Karmenu Vella a minister in the 1980s being tasked by the opposition leader to draw up the partys manifesto for the forthcoming election. In a brief reference to complaints that purchasing power had been eroded over the past few years, Dr Gonzi highlighted the governments positive economic track record at a time when other countries saw unemployment rise. To the concerned housewife, who says her husbands pay is not enough, I say at least he is not out on the streets protesting because he is jobless. We wanted to increase wages and lower electricity bills but we protected jobs, he said, insisting government was striving to create new and better jobs. Glossing over the partys internal divorce debate, Dr Gonzi indicated that the party had to take a stand on the issue because it also had a conscience of its own. The political meeting was also addressed by Health Minister Joe Cassar, who appealed for a sensitive approach when the issue of assisted procreation and IVF is debated. We are dealing with infertile couples and every decision they take has to be respected, he said. Touching on the controversial proposal made by a parliamentary select committee to freeze embryos, Dr Cassar reiterated his stand that Malta should go for egg freezing techniques which do not have ethical problems linked to them. For me life starts at conception and an embryo is a human life. The problem is not freezing embryos but what happens to them when they are unwanted, he said. He insisted that oocyte vitrification (egg freezing) was being carried out in various countries, even if the process was less advanced than that for embryo freezing. We have to be courageous irrespective of what is being done in other countries. We are a unique country with its own culture and values and so if we can resort to science that does not create ethical problems, that would be better, Dr Cassar said. The health minister also announced that agreement was recently reached with the Italian government to have Maltese cancer patients treated at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. Before the meeting Dr Gonzi toured social clubs in Birkirkara and visited President emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami at his home

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Gonzi ashamed of Muscats Egypt comment - timesofmalta.com

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on the eve of his 77th birthday.

Copyright Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on - 30-03-2013 - This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

19 Comments

mario aquilina
Feb 8th 2011, 07:45 One man's loss is another man's gain. One country's setback, is another country's benefit. I do not see anything wrong with Dr.Muscat comment at all.

Joseph Calleja
Feb 7th 2011, 16:41 I think both Dr Muscat and Dr Gonzi should stop making fools of themselves and make Malta the laughing stock of Europe if not the whole world. Both statements are political and opportunistic at best. It seems like politicians of any party will stop at nothing to collect votes. This goes on all over the world but these comments are a bit out of line and they do hurt the integrity of the Maltese people. You never hit a neighbor (Egypt) when they are down.There is a place and a time. I think both Dr Muscat and Dr Gonzi are very aware of that, after all they are both well educated people.

K.Anastasi
Feb 7th 2011, 16:09 As a qualified markerter, I would do the same as Mr Muscat... seize the opportunities out there, there is nothing wrong about what Muscat wants to do. Im actually ashamed of having a PM as Gonzi "wake up"!!

victor caruana
Feb 7th 2011, 16:02 Gonzi should tell the Egyptians, Tunisians and all muslims country that his party chased a muslim just for being a muslim. I'm sure they will be delighted and cut off his oil pipe!

Robert Agius
Feb 7th 2011, 14:23 Gonzi, get your head out of wherever it's stuck. Taking advantage is what the entire economic system is built on. People still travel despite protests, starvation and wars going on around the world. How is that for solidarity? If people are not going to Egypt because of the problems there they are going to opt for another location. And what do you have to say about supporting so many dictators for such a long time? Hypocrites!!

Charles Muscat
Feb 7th 2011, 13:24 Well said Dr. Gonzi, I hate to remember the so called Deserta chocolate and we had to eat bulk buying from the Mintoff regime back then. LEST WE FORGET.

C.Camilleri
Feb 7th 2011, 12:42 Dear Prime Minister, are you ashamed with your party calling the libyans Tal Habbaziz amongst other names?

Joe Grima
Feb 7th 2011, 12:06 Dr Gonzi has a great deal to be ashamed of. He should be ashamed of, at least. for having led this country into a blind alley facing a brick wall. He has the docile, good people of Malta and a disciplined, democratic Labour Party Leader to thank for not having been already ousted Mubarak style.

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Joseph Abela
Feb 7th 2011, 20:50 If you are the former Labour Minister of Mintoff/KMB days, you have some cheek to write the way you do - wasn't it you who went to the Stamperija with a programme on NET TV which was so critical of Labour? Wasn't it you who took part in the violence of the bad old days of the 70s and 80s? Hallina, Joe. Mur kompli orqod!

Joe Grima
Feb 7th 2011, 23:52 Much to your regret, no it wasn't

Ivan Galea
Feb 7th 2011, 11:59 ashamed of what??? on the basis of the below article shoud he also be ashamed for someone else...and other countires who are doing likewise!!! http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110119/local/tunisia-tourists-diverted-to-malta

Mike Magri
Feb 7th 2011, 11:08 Sur Gonzi.. Ashamed should be ALL those, including YOU, who at this time and age, have given themselves a ... SHAMEFULL... DOUBLE ...PAY Rise of 500 euros / week... U mela Dr. Muscat who in the unfortunate Egypt and Tunisa cases acted, first and foremost, IN THE COUNTRY`S INTERESTS...!!!! Let you be assured, that amongst the most of the majority of the Citizins of this country, your SILLY SPIN on this case has TOTALY IMMENSELY FAILED... Well Done Joseph... Keep Up The Good Work.....

Joseph Abela
Feb 7th 2011, 11:06 Dr Gonzi, what you should be 'ashamed' of, is the fact that you have acted in these past three years in a way that proved that you do not have the necessary qualifications to manage a country. You should be 'ashamed' because you are throwing the country straight into the hands of the PL, a party which these past days is showing that it has not learnt its lessons from the past (Karmenu Vella's appearance in the front line speaks volumes!) and is willing to uphold the strife and the quagmire we lived in, in the 70s and 80s! THIS is what you are going to do with the way you and your few cronies are acting and behaving! That is the SHAME that you must feel! You're giving the reins of the country to the PL without their being prepared and deserving of this. Ara x'se taghmlilna!

Phil Humphries
Feb 7th 2011, 10:04 LG might well feel 'ashamed' by what JM said, but GonziPN has so much much than words to be ashamed of. If the PM is really ashamed by words, then 'Transparency', 'Democracy', 'Sensitivity', 'Hypocrisy' and 'Re-electability' are just a few that he might want to consider.

Raymond Lanzon
Feb 7th 2011, 09:56 Dr Muscat has nothing to be ashamed of since his statement is in Malta's interest. Nothing wrong to increase Maltese Tourism advertising when our own region is passing through a difficult period. Not doing so in a time of regional crises could even have a negative effect on our own tourism figures reached last year.

Pat Hobson
Feb 7th 2011, 11:34 Dr. Gonzi and his Party should be ashamed for the things they did during the PL years to chase investment out of the country. The PN with EFA as its leader did their utmost to tarnish Malta's image in international circles. That's what Gonzi and his ilk should be ashamed of.

D.Teuma
Feb 7th 2011, 13:38 Lets face real facts the tourist industry at this moment in time is not in a healthy condition, and no point in tit for tat as it conerns us all, so really folks grab what you can while you can, as it may not last, and then who suffers the Maltese as Malta has nothing else to offer the young generation except form filling for emigration to pastures new.

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Antoine Vella
Feb 7th 2011, 14:30 If Joseph Muscat is not ashamed of Labourites burning down The Times building and attacking Fenech Adami's family (to mention just two barbarities) then he certainly won't be ashamed of his callous statement.

Corinne Vella
Feb 7th 2011, 15:35 Joseph Muscat's statement ignores the fact that Malta has a vested interest in regional affairs and not just for the sake of pumping up tourism figures. In a country where someone refuses to fly to St Petersburg because of a single case of swine flu in Moscow, it's impressive how many believe that the net impact of political turmoil in North Africa can only be positive for Malta's tourism industry.

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