Speaking during a meeting at PN headquarters with organisations that represent the elderly, the PN Party leader said that the PN and its EP bloc, the EPP, believed in the dignity of the individual.

Dr Gonzi said keeping in contact with various organisations was important for the Nationalist party. “It is also important for everyone to realise that the general public realises the importance of the European Parliament election on 12 June,” he said.

The election was not about who was going to govern the country or if Malta was going to join the EU, said Dr Gonzi. “It is about having the best people possible to represent Malta and getting the best for our country and of course the EU, that we now form part of,” he said.

The Nationalist Party had made pensioners and the elderly the centre of its attention, Dr Gonzi said. “We have always striven to give the elderly dignity and to include them in our society.”

The PN looked at pensioners not just as people who received a monthly cheque, but as people who were full of knowledge that could be of use to the country. “We also try to offer services to the elderly that will make their life easier and allow them to keep living at home and be part of the community,” said the prime minister.

The eight PN MEP candidates, he said, were all in the PN mould. “And in that mould, they want to see the elderly and pensioners remain an integral part of Maltese society.”

He also said that the PN candidates would form part of the largest bloc in the EP, the European Popular Party (EPP). “It is important to have the strength of that bloc behind us because at the EP we will be voting on issues pertinent to Malta, not just discussing them,” he said.

He also said that the EPP action plan held true to PN beliefs. “In the first section, the EPP says that it gives the utmost importance to the dignity of the individual. It also says that the elderly are a source of knowledge, creativity and inspiration.

Dr Gonzi said that government also wanted adequate and sustainable pension and health care schemes.

“We do not have a problem now, but we will in the future, perhaps as soon as 10 years from now. We could just leave things as they are, but we don’t want to do that. We want to tackle the problem before it gets out of control,” he said.

The MCESD was discussing the issue to formulate the outline of a plan, but when their deliberations end in June, the discussion will be taken to a national level.