The Nationalist government will invest Lm50 million to build a new campus in Paola that will incorporate all the institutions of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced yesterday.

Dr Gonzi was delivering his closing speech of the three-day Nationalist Party general conference, called Renewing Success Together (Ingeddu s-Success Flimkien).

He explained that the government aims to double the number of students attending MCAST from the present 5,000 to 10,000.

Earlier, Dr Gonzi had said that the Maltese parliament unanimously approved the EU constitution. “We all strongly believe that it is the way forward for the EU to continue growing and that, as a result, Malta will grow too,” he said.

Malta has the responsibility to contribute to the EU’s growth, he said. “The Nationalist government looks to the future and not to the past. This is the message we are trying to put across with this general conference,” said Dr Gonzi.

Whenever an election is held, the Nationalists need to explain to the people over and over again what has been done and what is being planned for the future, he explained. “We have to fight those who want to dishearten the people,” said Dr Gonzi.

The prime minister referred to the euro convergence report issued by the European Central Bank and the European Commission, both of which concluded that Malta’s present state was “credible” and “sustainable”.

“I did not ask them to say that – they said it as though they needed to answer someone who claims our politics are not sustainable and credible,” said Dr Gonzi.

He invited those present and the Maltese public to start making their proposals on how they want Malta to develop until 2015. “We want to know what you wish for the country during those years,” said Dr Gonzi.

He also extended this invitation to the Malta Labour Party and said that it was time to put aside their political differences.

Dr Gonzi pointed out that the Nationalists’ political programme is put together by the Maltese people and not by anonymous authors. Next year’s budget will revolve on the family and will protect the environment – natural and urban, he said.

Furthermore, he added, the government will soon launch an initiative to implement the “pharmacy of your choice” system whereby people will be able to acquire the medicines they need without having to go to hospital.

PN secretary general Joe Saliba said that the MLP is constantly producing vision statements for the Maltese people that have little or no content at all.

“However, unlike the MLP, we believe in a network of communications. Instead of producing documents that have come from above, we produce policies and documents that are a result of discussion between the people,” he said.

This reflects the PN’s open attitude to dialogue, that in turn creates success and employment for the country, added Mr Saliba.

“We strongly believe in open politics and that the Maltese and Gozitan people are our biggest success,” he said.

“We do not want anyone to be left behind – everyone has to continue growing and share our success,” said Mr Saliba.

The secretary general said that the Nationalist Party has an important history of great leaders, of which it is very proud. “These people were not afraid to build politics for the good of the country as opposed to collecting votes,” he said.

Mr Saliba said that while the Nationalist government is known for democracy, solidarity, employment, EU and now bringing in the euro, Dr Sant’s party is known for its many u-turns.

“However, I find it extremely ironic that Dr Sant accused us of performing u-turns when he himself did so many, especially with regards to VAT and local councils, for example,” said Mr Saliba.

“Today we start off a one-year trek towards the renewal of our future and we will tell you to have courage when the MLP tries to put down our arguments,” he said.

Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino said more needs to be done, with the collaboration of NGOs, to protect the environment.

“The government and the NGOs have the same programmes and agenda, but perhaps we differ on the timing on when these should be implemented,” he said.

Maltese society needs to be ready to absorb these changes, he explained.

Mr Pullicino said that Malta has a weak democracy because of the Malta Labour Party’s lack of participation. “We have an opposition who does not participate but simply wants to create obstacles,” he said.

Although focusing on the past is important, youths – especially those who will be voting for the first time in the next general elections – need to be given a programme for their future, said Mr Pullicino.

Nationalist MP John Dalli said that it is important to renew the Nationalist Party’s success through full use of its resources.

“All the talents that are available to us have to be used to overcome the possible threat of the Labour Party taking over,” he said.

Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt said that Opposition Leader Alfred Sant is a man of the past.

He said that the Nationalist Party, unlike the Malta Labour Party, can boast of its successful past and successful leaders such as Fortunato Mizzi, Gorg Borg Oliver and Eddie Fenech Adami.

“The Nationalist Party is a political party with a vision. Instead of giving up three years ago when we had to meet the criteria to join the eurozone, prime minister Gonzi helped us overcome the obstacles,” said Dr Gatt.