Nationalist Party Leader Alex Borg announced that if elected, his PN government will introduce a new kind of parental leave that parents would be able to use to stay at home with their sick children.

In a party activity on Sunday morning, Borg said that this new kind of leave will be separate from existing kinds of work leave, and will consist of 15 days, fully paid by the government.

He said that at the moment, parents must use up their own leave if they wish to stay home to take care of their sick child.

This proposal will also extend to self-employed persons, Borg added.

During the political activity on Mothers' Day, Borg said that his Nationalist Party wants to place families at the centre of its politics.

He said that it will do so by pushing for policies that promote better work-life balance and more family time.

"I want us to truly place families at the centre of our politics - for them not to be an extension or an afterthought," Borg said.

Borg also shared his party's intentions to extend maternity and paternity leave.

Borg said that the Nationalist Party wants to extend maternity leave from 18 weeks to a fully paid six months and raise paternity leave for new fathers up from the current 10 days of leave to four weeks.

On the latter, Borg said that that fathers must be present in their children's early development, and aren't just a mere presence in these situations.

He said that the self-employed will also have the right to claim these forms of leave.

In addition, Borg said that the PN also wants to improve work-life balance for families and promote more time to enjoy quality time together.

Borg said that the PN wants to help parents by incentivising remote and flexible working.

He said that as observed a few years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic, "remote working worked in certain sectors" and that it is important to promote working outside the office in a manner that does not decrease national productivity, as otherwise, this could negatively affect the national economy.

Borg said that the PN wants to create a system "where our country empowers women to have families and jobs," and not necessarily one where women can face friction while balancing these two elements.

He added that the PN's own Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, serves as a role model that a woman can truly be a leader in her own life.

While expressing his appreciation towards his partner, Sarah Bajada, and his mother for their continued support throughout his life, the PN leader said that the Nationalist Party pledges to also support all women who wish to have children but cannot.

In this regard, he said that the PN wants to assist couples looking to have children, but cannot, by providing them with "every opportunity" to grow their families within the Maltese islands, rather than spending thousands to carry out IVF procedures abroad.

Borg thanked all those involved in supporting families around the Maltese islands, such as those working in childcare centres, and said that the PN will keep supporting these areas.

"Childcare centres are doing a lot of good in the country," he said.

At the end of his speech, Borg also went over some other recently announced PN proposals, such as its pitches for a €450 million offshore maritime fuel hub at Hurd's Bank, a €350 million cultural district in Marsa, and a €12 million investment into AI and space-related industries.

He said that the Nationalist Party aims to help the Maltese islands generate more wealth by introducing new economic niches into the country.

Borg also affirmed the PN's pro-life stance, that it believes in life from contraception.

He concluded that the PN's politics aims to leave no person behind or isolated.