Updated 10.30pm - Added video

Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil launched his electoral campaign this evening insisting the PN was ready to govern.

Addressing a press conference called a few hours after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called a snap election for June 3, Dr Busuttil described Dr Muscat's call as "extraordinary" and said the noose of corruption was tightening around the government's neck.

WATCH: 'Save Malta from Joseph Muscat', Busuttil tells crowds

The PN will campaign under the slogan 'I choose Malta'.

Dr Busuttil used the press conference to announce the party's electoral slogan, Jien Nagħżel Malta [I choose Malta]. The party's campaign will kick off with a rally at PN headquarters tomorrow and another mass meeting on Sunday.

The PN leader reiterated that the electoral choice facing voters was not between red or blue, but between Joseph Muscat and Malta.

The Nationalist Party would be keeping a close eye on Joseph Muscat's conduct throughout the electoral campaign and would call out any attempts to "buy" votes as "corrupt practices," he said, arguing that Dr Muscat could only be considered a "caretaker Prime Minister" at this stage.

WATCH: General election to be held on June 3, PM announces

Asked for his reaction to Dr Muscat's criticism of the PN as a "coalition of confusion", Dr Busuttil told Times of Malta that the instability facing the country was the result of the current administration's corruption.

Turning back to the early election date, Dr Busuttil said this raised questions.
"People will rightly ask, 'why?', and the answer is clear; because they ran the most corrupt government ever," he said.

Dr Busuttil at this evening's press conference. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

He also questioned why Dr Muscat had called the election before the outcome of a magisterial inquiry into allegations that the Panama company Egrant belonged to his wife Michelle.

What would happen if Dr Muscat won and it resulted that he was guilty of wrongdoing, he asked.

Dr Busuttil said that in the coming days, the PN would be putting forward a series of studied proposals for an alternative government.

On a personal note, he said this was his first experience leading a party into a general election. He felt a weight of responsibilities on his shoulders, but was sure he would meet this challenge with the help of his family, friends, partner Kristina, his party colleagues, and all those of goodwill.