The electorate will have the chance to vote for the politics of concensus, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil said this afternoon, ahead of the June 3 general election.
"My dream of restoring the PN's role of being the people's party has come true," he told a news conference during which he unveiled the PN-Partit Demokratiku candidates.
A total of 110 candidates will contest the general election under the PN banner, including 11 Democratic Party candidates, among whom former Labour MPs Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia.
Dr Busuttil expressed his disappointment that just a fourth of the candidates were women but pointed out that it reflected the hurdles for female candidates in Maltese politics.
However, he pledged to give elected female candidates a crucial role if elected to government. Furthermore, almost 60 per cent are new candidates, he said.
In his address, Dr Busuttil noted that when four years ago he was elected leader, he had a dream of making the PN the people's party once again.
Dr Busuttil said that the coalition faced the huge challenge to win back the electorate's trust in politics in general.
The PN leader said the national force, was based on the idea that politics was no longer based on division and confrontation or a winner-takes-it-all approach, but dialogue and consensus.
Busuttil welcomed Godfrey Farrugia in the coalition while thanking him for his bold move
"It was not an easy decision for Marlene Farrugia to take this step and form her own party, but she did what she thought was in the national interest."
Dr Busuttil referred to Godfrey Farrugia's candidature with the PD, and welcomed him in the coalition while thanking him for this bold move.
Asked about the party's chances in the wake of the latest polls giving the PL a three per cent lead, the PN leader expressed himself hopeful that the people would give his coalition a chance to start a fresh page.
"I trust people will make the wise choice when the time comes and I will always bow my head to their decision.The choice before us is to save the country's reputation."
PD leader Marlene Farrugia said that a united Malta could achieve the best results.
The PD leader stressed that the June 3 election will give the electorate the chance to have its say on the Labour government's performance whom she said had betrayed the people and tarnished the country's reputation during Malta's EU Presidency.
"This may be a victory for the entire five years," she added.
Dr Farrugia said the PD accepted to contest under the PN list as at the moment saying the most important thing was not their personal ego or party name on the balllot sheet but the future of the country.
Regarding the coalition leadership she said "the people" would be in charge.
"This national force is based on the politics of consensus."
The PD leader said her party wanted to give back Labour's social justice which had gone lost under Joseph Muscat.
"Dear Labour voters, you are not going to lose as we are here to make your dreams come true," she remarked.