Chris Said, the runner up in the first phase of the PN leadership election, promised today that he will reach out to the party's 22,000 members promising integrity, truth, and hard work.

Dr Said reiterated that he plans to offer a choice in the second phase of the election, to be held on September 16. The other contender will be Adrian Delia, who got most votes in the election.

All party members vote in the second round.

Dr Said said that like every Nationalist, he wanted their party to win general elections, But he did not want the party to sell its soul to achieve that aim. 

'The PN must not become a photocopy of Labour. Labour Mark 2 does not exist. There is only the Nationalist Party, built on the values of truth." 

Politics, he said, was about contact with the people, not theatrics.

The country, he said, needed an alternative to a government mired in corruption which had undermined the country's institutions and bloated the public service. But the people would have no choice but to keep Labour if the PN was in bed with it. 

Dr Said thanked all those who were enthusiastically backing him and said he always faced his challenges and would outline his vision for the party in the coming weeks, drawing on his long experience.