PN prepares its election billboard campaign

The Nationalist Party this morning is expected to start dismantling its billboards in a move that will pick up the pace of the election campaign.

The billboards will be repaired and start displaying PN material aimed at voters within the next three weeks, sources close to the party told The Sunday Times.

The step is a clear signal, if any were needed, that the general election is approaching, though Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has so far refused to commit himself publicly to a date.

The PN owns a number billboards which line arterial routes and for the past four years has leased them for commercial purposes. A number were recently used to mark the Independence Day celebrations.

The election could be held as late as August next year, but it is likely to be held several months earlier than that. It is understood that the PN has not ruled out taking the country to the polls this year.

However, some within the party believe that holding a snap election would disrupt plans for the introduction of the euro. Also, the government is planning a big celebration to introduce the single currency on January 1 and heads of state as well as EU dignitaries are expected in Malta for another major event on January 12.

An election in February and March remains a likely possibility, since a number of major projects - as well as a relatively positive Budget - are likely to have come on stream by then. The Mater Dei Hospital is also expected to be fully operational.

Most polls continue to show Labour is leading, though PN insiders say that Labour leader Alfred Sant's speech at a meeting in Birzebbuga during the Independence Day celebrations gave the PN a boost. A clip on the Website You Tube, comparing Dr Sant's speech in Birzebbuga to the Prime Minister's on the Granaries, already received 9,000 hits up till yesterday.