We will honour our past promises, says Gonzi

Pledges that were not implemented in the last legislature, such as the cohabitation and whistleblower laws, would be fulfilled in the next one, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi promised yesterday. “What we didn’t manage to do in the last legislature will be done in the next one,” he said during an interview on Radio 101. Dr Gonzi said such electoral promises were not mentioned in the Nationalist Party’s new programme, approved on Friday, because it listed new initiatives. Turning to the party’s proposal to provide tablets, which he described as a “very thin computer”, to primary and secondary schoolchildren, Dr Gonzi said they were important tools “that can be used for many marvellous things”. The most important thing was not the tablet itself but its use. Dr Gonzi said three local publishing houses, which produce school books, had agreed to produce an electronic version available on the tablet. Education was one of the party’s main pillars and it had pledged to provide childcare facilities through a voucher system, which could be used by parents who wanted to continue studying. Stipends would be adjusted pro rata every year according to the cost of living while those for disabled...