Although it has been in government for 20 years and is the party with the longest history in Malta, the Nationalist Party still has fresh ideas and is in the process of renewing itself, deputy leader Tonio Borg said yesterday.

Closing the first session of the PN general council, Dr Borg spoke about the work being undertaken by the government in the first seven months of the new legislature.

He said that over the years, the PN governments always invested in education because it is convinced that this is key to the country's future. This vision is yielding the expected results.

The government wanted to continue investing in post-secondary education so that the 70 per cent of students who continue studying after completing compulsory schooling would rise to 85 per cent.

Dr Borg referred to Labour leader Joseph Muscat's first speech on the EU Immigration Pact, which was unanimously approved in Brussels this week, in which he had called on the Prime Minister not to sign the pact.

Dr Borg appealed to the MLP to continue putting up a common front on immigration.

He charged that there was no substance in the new political season Dr Muscat was promising but just a lot of "show".

PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier introduced a document entitled Together, Committed For The Future - Employment, Education And The Environment. He said the PN could not rely solely on the successes achieved in the past but had to continue its renewal process which started through the opening of its new headquarters.

The present financial crisis was being felt in Malta so the PN could not only follow its electoral programme but has to put this into perspective of what is happening around us.

Dr Borg Olivier said the PN has to be courageous and ambitious about its vision, especially its vision for 2015.