An election is by its very nature a moment of choice; it is the moment where power is fully returned directly in the hands of the people and where we the people make a number of key choices. First and foremost we get to elect which political party has our trust to lead the next government. Secondly we get to elect the politicians to whom we shall give the duty of representing us in the highest organ of democracy and of executing the electoral mandate on which the said politician would have been elected.

Both choices are important and both choices have a direct impact on the country's future. Both are choices which are not to be taken lightly or trivialized but rather are to be taken as our duty towards our country.

During this electoral campaign we have seen a stark difference between the two major political parties. Labour's campaign has been marked with several knee jerk reactions, cheap attempts to outdo their political rivals and a screaming lack of a coherent plan to explain how giving Labour its fourth electoral mandate in a row is of any benefit to the country. Labour's campaign has been marked by what seems to be an almost obsessive level of worry about Robert Abela's opposite number in the form of Alex Borg. Labour has made many grandiose promises but has failed abjectly to explain how any of those promises form a coherent and logical plan for the country.

Quite the opposite can be said of the Nationalist Party's campaign. It is a campaign built on a solid political vision where there is a clear aim of where the country needs to go. It is a campaign built on a solid electoral programme that is both coherent and logical and that has a common line of thought; placing the national interest at the heart of politics. For the Nationalist Party this campaign hasn't been about petty squabbles between blue and red; for the Nationalist Party this campaign is an opportunity for us as a people to unite behind a political vision and offer our country a much-needed breath of fresh air.

It is a campaign that has addressed some of the most pressing challenges our country has faced over the last years. Challenges which have either remained completely unaddressed or which have not been adequately addressed time and time again. This isn't a campaign driven by pique or partisanship; it is a campaign driven by a desire for our country to achieve more, a desire to make our country a place where everyone can achieve the very maximum of their potential.

Alex Borg has shown himself to be a solid leader; a leader who can truly make a difference. A leader well suited to be the next Prime Minister of our country. A leader who can indeed offer this country a breath of fresh air. This is why so many people have found it easy to lend Alex Borg and the Nationalist Party their support; people who traditionally haven't necessarily always been supporters of the Nationalist Party, people who may have perhaps never imagined themselves in the past as one day being part of the Nationalist Party.

Our country deserves a new way of doing politics and a new vision in politics. Our country needs a government that is ambitious; has undying faith in the people and has a clear plan as to how we can truly punch above our weight. On May 30 we have a golden opportunity to give our country that government. On May 30 if we use our vote wisely we could find ourselves waking up to such a government in the early hours of June 1^st. Let us make use of this opportunity in the best way possible. Let us offer our country the chance it deserves.

Angelo Micallef is a General Election candidate on behalf of the Nationalist Party on the 8^th Electoral District