PN leadership contender Alex Perici Calascione has called for greater unity within the party, the full participation of those involved with it and a return to true understanding of the issues people faced on a daily basis.

Speaking during the launch of his campaign at the AZAD Centre in Valletta, the outgoing PN treasurer also called for greater organisation with local councils in order to better understand he needs of the community, as well as investment into the human and technical resources of the Elcom office.

Perici Calascione defended his failure to get elected during the last general election after insisting that his five-year stint as PN Treasurer provided him with the knowledge and exposure of vastly different individuals across all districts.

Facing questions from the press, he also revealed that he believed that the PN made mistakes by choosing to focus on corruption throughout the campaign instead of showing the nation the vast number of proposals they had put forward throughout the legislature.

In a reference to the controversy surrounding the marriage equality debate, he said that he would not accept someone who went against directly what was proposed in an electoral manifesto, but understood that should a bill go beyond what was offered and was a matter of conscience then a free vote should be offered.

Turning to the election loss, he said that it was imperative that the party conducted an analysis which would not be afraid to properly criticise the mistakes made, in order to move forward.

There was also mention of the establishment of committee made of experts in order to be a point of reference for the party. He also called for better ties with AZAD.

The relationship between PD and PN has been fraught with uncertainty following the election result, and Perici Calascione told the press that the party's would need to have internal discussions to examine the best course of action moving forward.                        

Reflecting on his time as treasurer, he said that in four years the party managed to reorganise their financial structures and are ready to examine the situation and create a plan for victory. “We managed to receive the highest amount of tesserati this year.”

Perici Calascione submitted his nomination earlier this afternoon. He joins two others who have so far announced they will be contesting - lawyer Adrian Delia and former PN Secretary General Chris Said.

Today is the closing date for nominations.