Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg issued his first rallying cry to supporters, minutes after Prime Minister Robert Abela called a general election for 30 May.
“Now that the Prime Minister has called an early election, I want to tell you that we are ready,” Borg said in a video message on Facebook.
“Today we start a walk of hope, of energy, and of faith in Malta,” he said.
“This isn’t a campaign against someone, this is a campaign for our country, for families who want peace of mind, for youths who want a future here, for workers, businesses, and the elderly who deserve better,” he said.
“Malta has a strong economy, but now we need to make it feel that way in people’s lives,” he added.
He called on people to come together and work with “respect, courage, and all our hearts” – “because this is our moment: the moment we give Malta a breath of fresh air.”
“We are ready, let’s begin,” he said.
The electoral campaign will be the bare minimum provided for by the law: 33 days, with Malta then heading to the polls on 30 May.
Abela’s Labour Party remains ahead in the polls, though not by the margins that the party has been used to in the past 13 years. Since Borg was elected to lead the Nationalist Party last summer, he has consistently said that the party will be ready for a general election, whenever it may come.
