Prime Minister defends State guarantee to Electrogas as Opposition leader says it is 'colossal' and 'irresponsible'

The controversial €360 million State guarantee to Electrogas was the main subject of this morning's political interventions by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this defended the guarantee, which was 80 per cent of the financing needed for the consortium to build the new power station. Speaking on One Radio he said through this, the government was guaranteeing that it would use electricity so a new power station was being built. The previous government had guaranteed that it would use a new Parliament and built one. It had also given a guarantee of more than €300 million for Enemalta not to go bankrupt. Moreover, another €400 million in guarantees were given in the six months before the election. The Prime Minister said that, in its electoral programme, the Nationalist Party had copied a Labour Party proposal for a development bank, something the current government was working on. A development bank, Dr Muscat said, required the giving of guarantees so the Nationalist Party either did no longer agree with its proposal or it had no idea was it was proposing in its manifesto. The Prime Minister said that what mattered...