Labour Party leader Alfred Sant yesterday described the speech on the budget by the Prime Minister as "sterile and that it offers no vision or hope to the people".
Commenting at his parliamentary office, he said that Dr Gonzi's speech did not address the needs of families and as his previous budget speech was based on laptop politics.
Furthermore, he did not find a way to show how families were better off today than they were during the past three years.
Dr Sant lambasted the Prime Minister for failing to show how the new rates for water and electricity were arrived at. Dr Gonzi failed to accept the challenge to appoint independent auditors to verify how these charges were set, Dr Sant argued.