“The PN has no option but to change but that does not mean that it should throw away its past. We are proud of our past and that is what we are celebrating now,” PN Leader Simon Busuttil said this evening.

Dr Busuttil was speaking at a PN activity on the Floriana granaries, along with 10 of 12 new candidates for the next general election.

The PN Leader said the Nationalist Party will not distance itself from its core beliefs but it will apply them to the circumstances of this day and age. “The PN has to be part of this country’s future. This is the time to reflect and plan out the future, the next 50 years. In order to do that, the PN has to look back at its starting point. I want the party to change, to improve, but we have to do that with full respect to the persons who made it what it is today, people like George Borg Olivier.”

Dr Busuttil praised the new candidates for joining the party not in a time of triumph but in a difficult moment, when they are most needed. “They have stood up to be counted. And many others will do as they did.”

 

‘PN ready to work with the government on migration solution’

PN Deputy Leader Mario de Marco said he was impressed by the new PN candidates. “These young people are the ones who will keep the party going to eventually celebrate a 100 years of independence.” Dr de Marco spoke on the PN’s track economic track record and the country’s perseverance through the financial crisis and said these achievements make one proud to be Maltese. The PN had always recognised great opportunities and taken important decisions at the right time. Such was the case in the tourism industry, education and financial services.

Turning to other matters, Dr de Marco warned about the situation at Air Malta. “We cannot allow it to close down. The national airline carries more than half of tourists that come to Malta and a drop in numbers would not only hurt hotels and restaurants but many different sectors.” The PN deputy leader also noted that commerce and imports were down.

Dr de Marco also referred to this week’s migrant tragedy, in which more than 500 people perished. “Neighbouring countries are in turmoil and thousands are fleeing conflict and poverty. The PN is willing to work with the government to find a sustainable solution to these problems.” Concluding, Dr de Marco said that what he would like to see happening in the next 50 years is an end to the politics of “them and us.”