Azzjoni Nazzjonali yesterday launched its electoral manifesto, built on the premise of reducing the power of Government and placing it in the hands of citizens, with the unity and importance of the family at its core.

AN leader Josie Muscat said his party wanted everyone to be well-off so they would be free from dependency on the state, with referendums forming part of Maltese culture and laws requiring consensus of citizens before being passed in Parliament.

Dr Muscat said Malta needed a serious change - not the way the other parties, which he termed the "political juggernaut", or "MLPN", were presenting - in administration, thinking, living and doing business.

Describing AN as a pro-business party, he said the economy was stagnant. To encourage private and foreign investment, Azzjoni proposes the introduction of a flat tax rate, the lowest possible, which would encourage foreign investment.

Dr Muscat called for a serious and enforced Accountability Act and a wide Whistleblower Act to defend citizens and ensure transparency.

He proposed educational reform that would see students attend specific colleges, based on their choice of future employment, where they would be trained in that particular area to emerge ready to face the world.

AN was born, he said, from the belief that the other parties were in a rut and unable to "think outside the box". In the eventuality that one of its representatives were to be elected, AN was in favour of a national government, made up of the best and most honest minds of the PN and the MLP. And if they were reluctant, it would negotiate with the party that came closest to its firm principles.

Regarding how many votes AN has calculated it could attract, Dr Muscat said he never counted his chickens before they hatched, but said that "the mosquito can kill the elephant".