PN leading by 1% - Saliba

The Nationalist Party is leading Labour by one per cent in opinion polls, according to general secretary Joe Saliba.

In an interview with The Times (see page 7), Mr Saliba gives a rare peek into his party's polls, as the general election fast approaches.

He casts doubts over the veracity of a newspaper article last week, which claimed that Labour was steaming ahead with a 14,000-vote majority. Mr Saliba admits, however, that an estimated 30 per cent of respondents were still undecided or refrained from giving their voting intentions - and the majority of those were traditionally Nationalist middle-class supporters.

"The worst thing we can do is to take things for granted. We need to convince them that it will make a difference if we have a change in government," he says.

He would not be drawn into suggesting his preferred election date, but said his party would kick off its campaign "gradually" after the Independence Day celebrations later this month.

Mr Saliba says he would have no objection for his party to publish its accounts, provided the Labour Party did likewise. He admitted that contractors funded both parties but that did not translate in any way into government deals.