Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat is happy with his party's result in last week's MEP elections despite only getting half the number of votes won by far-right candidate Norman Lowell.

"Our party is only two years old and we had to face two elections. We need to organise ourselves better to pass on our message," he said yesterday. Dr Muscat said AN had garnered 1,000 more votes than in last year's general election.

The party's three candidates polled under 1,600 first-count votes together, against the 3,559 of Imperium Europa's leader Mr Lowell.

Still, Dr Muscat brushed aside Mr Lowell's invitation for other rightists to join his new party, which he wants to call Viva Malta.

"We have our own electoral programme and will continue as Azzjoni Nazzjonali," he said. Dr Muscat complained that the party did not have the media's support and was looking at publishing its own newspaper. "It is impossible for us to move forward unless we publish our newspaper," he said, adding that in the past few days young people had approached the party to join it.

Dr Muscat told a press conference it was worrisome that some 70,000 people either did not vote or nullified their vote.

"Did they do this in protest or because they have given up on politics," he asked. He said those who did not vote surely did not have the right to complain about EU-imposed regulations. He added that although Malta ratified the Lisbon Treaty, many people were not aware what this entailed and called on the European Parliament office in Malta to launch an information campaign. "We are in favour of EU membership but against being a federal state. We want a Europe where the national parliament remains supreme and not have to bow its head to what is legislated by others."

Dr Muscat said had AN not put the problem of illegal immigration on the national agenda, it would have been hidden by the two main parties.