Electoral campaigns are specifically designed for political parties to lay out their vision for their country and to publish their proposals. I have witnessed local electoral campaigns that heated up from the word go. This one, admittedly, is quite different. Despite being in the thick of the electoral campaign, the political heat is mild, if on at all. I consider that to be a welcoming relief from past, contentious, electoral campaigns.

The Labour and the Nationalist parties, through their respective leaders, start the day with a press conference that focuses on a specific subject, and is accompanied by a set of proposals. Housing, tax cuts, pensions, stipends, and children's allowances, the labour market, tourism, education, and health have been amongst the sectors that both parties have focused on. But there is one thing that strikes me, and which admittedly, I haven't witnessed in past electoral campaigns, and that is the haphazard way that the Nationalist Party is coming up with its proposals.

I am quite honestly baffled how, on the eve of the general election, when they had ample time to prepare their proposals - the PN has been in opposition for the past 13 years - they call the press, with much fanfare, and the leader of the opposition announces, with a straight face, proposals that when one works out their numbers, just do not add up.

Consider this, Alex Borg is saying that a PN government would allocate €28 million to subsidize half the interest for first-time buyers.

At first glance, it seems to be an interesting proposal - until you work out the numbers, and if you are a first-time buyer, you are in for an unpleasant surprise. Take a minute to work the numbers on your phone's calculator. It's simple maths. Imagine a young couple that purchases an apartment valued at €300,000. In this case, the couple would pay a 10% deposit, meaning they would need to take out a bank loan of €270,000 at an annual interest rate of 3%, to be repaid over 40 years.

Over the first 10 years, the couple would pay €75,000 in interest. Alex Borg is promising that this couple would receive half of the interest paid, that is, €37,500. Now, divide the €28 million (the total cost claimed by the PN proposal) by €37,500 (half of €75,000), and you'll realise that only 747 first-time buyers would benefit from this measure over 10 years. This is only one-third of those first-time buyers currently benefiting under a Labour Government. At present, with the assistance being provided by the Labour Government, no fewer than 2,300 first-time buyers benefit each year.

This was not an isolated case of the PN getting its numbers wrong. Following the announcement by Prime Minister Robert Abela of a yearly super bonus of €1,000 to every worker, the PN leader didn't want to be outdone. A few hours later, he announced that he would give workers €1,200, explained that there were 300,000 workers, and said that his proposal would cost between €110 and €130 million. Now, go back to your calculator and multiply €1,200 by 300,000 workers, and your calculator will tell you that that adds up to €360 million and not 'between €110 and €130 million', as Alex Borg had stated - an error of €250 million.

No wonder that the Nationalist Party has made a financial mess of its own finances, to the effect that it has a huge debt that it has no idea how to address. It is clear to all and sundry that Alex Borg and his team have serious difficulties comprehending basic mathematics and have absolutely no idea of economic and financial matters.

The sad thing about this, tragic if you like, is that Alex Borg is expecting to be Prime Minister in a week. Would you imagine him leading the country in such a turbulent geopolitical situation when Prime Ministers are expected to take the most sensitive of decisions to ensure that their economy remains strong and their country's coffers stable, as did Prime Minister Robert Abela in the last four years? Alex Borg would make a dog's breakfast of the country's finances and wreak havoc on Malta's economy.

The good news is that you can prevent Malta from going down that slippery slope by trusting Labour, which is tried and tested, on May 30.

Glenn Bedingfield is parliamentary secretary for public cleanliness