Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this afternoon reacted to a comment by Dr Sant that he had no regrets over MLP policies, including its opposition to EU membership, insisting at a mass meeting that it was the people who had no regrets over their choice in favour of accession.

“We have no regrets” Dr Gonzi repeated twice in reaction to the comments given by Dr Sant in an interview to The Sunday Times, also carried on timesofmalta.com.

In his speech before a packed crowd in Dingli Street, Sliema, Dr Gonzi said that Malta was in a far better shape now than when it started its adventure as an EU member almost four years ago.

The people could, therefore, judge the PN not only by its promises for the future, but also by what it had achieved. The PN had no regrets over its policies. But it was not perfect and it knew that more remained to be done. Nonetheless, solid foundations had been laid on which further progress could be achieved.

Dr Gonzi reiterated the PN promises to reduce income tax and invest heavily in education and primary health care. This, he said, was a government which had achieved results, as the 20,000 new jobs created over the past four years showed.

What Dr Sant had proposed in the past four years was a devaluation of the (then) lira, which would have meant the country would have had to repeat a class, Dr Gonzi said, in a jibe at the MLP reception class proposal.

The PN government, he stressed, would not have any students repeat a class.

He also referred to MLP denials that under a Labour government overtime would be paid at normal rates instead of time and a half, saying the MLP was actually already doing so with its workers at Super 1.