In less than two weeks, more than 20,000 members of the Nationalist Paper will have to make a clear choice. I will be campaigning with all my energy to convince our members that I’m the bestchoice to lead forward a party that will standfor all that Labouris not. With me at the helm of the Nationalist Party, we will re-build the party on the values we have always cherished – integrity, honesty, transparency and accountability.

The almost full voter turn-out last Saturday fills us all with courage that our party is alive. I thank my colleagues Alex PericiCalascione and Frank Portelli for coming forward and offering their service at this important juncture in our party’s history. I congratulate Adrian for finishing the first round on top and I look forward to a healthy and constructive last round, as both of us present our ideas to lead the party forward.

I will base the second part of this campaign on the values I have always stood for – integrity and hard-work. I want the Nationalist Party to regroup and to focus all its energies on becoming the alternative government this country needs.

Yet, I will not do that at any cost. I will not trade our values. I will not tolerate shady deals. I will not tone down our fight against corruption and abuse. I will not forget that the top echelons of Muscat’s government are under investigation. We need to ensure that all those who value accountability and honest politics can find a political home in the Nationalist Party.

Politics is not an exercise in theatrics. It is leading the way by example. It is serving the people and not to be served by them. It is ensuring that the weakest in our society move forward, and that the wealth is fairly shared.

I was raised in a modest family and I am proud to have spent my life surrounded by genuine people, whose concerns revolve around bread-and-butter issues. That’s where I want the party to be – at the heart of our families, concerned by their concerns and building an ambitious programme for all of them to move forward.

This government is entangled in corruption. The independence of our institutions is being gradually eroded. Our economy is still running on the industries built by the Nationalist Party. Come next election, our people need to have a choice between two clearly different parties, and one of those needs to be the champion of integrity and honest politics. With me as leader of the Nationalist Party, I guarantee that we will be that option.

In the coming two weeks I’ll be devoting all my time to further explain my vision for the future of the party to all our supporters. I will be giving it my all, as I have always done, to keep serving our party with loyalty and integrity. If elected leader, I will not put myself on any pedestal. I will leave the pedestal for the values that our party stands for.