Chris Said outlines his vision of an economy with the family at its centre

PN leadership contender Chris Said said his vision for an economy was one that the country could sustain in the long-term, enables individuals to move forward, is built on the concept of solidarity and works for all

Said said that if he became PN leader, the party would no longer ruin its reputation to secure unsustainable investment
Said said that if he became PN leader, the party would no longer ruin its reputation to secure unsustainable investment

The Nationalist Party’s economic policy must revolve around the family, which should be the starting point of any discussion on the future of the country’s economy, PN leadership contender Chris Said has said.

In a statement, Said – who is contesting the PN leadership with Adrian Delia, Alex Perici Calascione and Frank Portelli – said that under his leadership, the party would build an economic strategy around the needs of the family, the aspirations of professionals and skilled workers, business people and self-employed, youths and pensioners, students, children and those who currently struggle most to land a job.

His vision for an economy that revolves around the family is one that the country could sustain in the long-term, enables individuals to move forward, is built on the concept of solidarity, reaches pensioners as much as grandchildren, and one that works for all.

Business-friendly

Said said he wants the PN to build an economy where every individual can reach her or his potential, be they employers or employees, new graduates or skilled workers looking for new challenges.

“The Nationalist Party was always a business-friendly party and we must remain so,” he said. “Yet, with me at the helm of the party the Nationalist Party will not be friendly with any business seeking profits at the expense of workers’ rights, equality, standards and dignity.”

Solidarity as a fundamental principle

Said insisted that under his leadership, the PN would develop a strategy through which wealth would reach everyone.

“We need to understand our duty towards those from whom we have inherited this country,” he said. “Pensioners need to be treated with respect; their contribution needs to be celebrated and their hard work rewarded.”

An economy that works for the people

Said said his vision was of an economy that does not consider young people merely as consumers and said a future Nationalist government would the natural partner of all young people as they invest in the future.

“It is also our duty as a party to tackle poverty but, first, we need to understand it, as it is not enough to tackle ‘traditional’ poverty,” he said. “We must also address new forms of poverty that many often ignore, a child leaving school without numeracy and literacy is a poor child, a single mother juggling two jobs to make ends meet with no time to spend with her child, is a poor woman, a society that tolerates abuse is a poor society.”

Said vowed to ensure solidarity remain a guiding principle for the party’s economic policy, working for the people, and not the other way round.

Investment and reputation

Said said that a future Nationalist Government would attract foreign investment through its reputation, instead of ruining its reputation to attract unsustainable investment.

“We will value what is right and not what is quick. We cannot strengthen our economy unless we strengthen our country’s reputation,” he said. “Sustainability must remain key for our children to find a striving economy upon leaving school fifteen or twenty years later.”

As leader of the PN, Said would ensure that the economic policy saveguard the country’s natural environment, believing that ruining whatever is left of the natural environment in the name of progress is short-sighted and outright irresponsible.