PN readies for convention that will inform electoral manifesto; EPP secretary general to attend

Mikuláš Dzurinda, a former Slovak prime minister, and European People’s Party Secretary General Dolors Montserrat will address the Nationalist Party’s national convention over the weekend.

Dzurinda, president of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, was prime minister of Slovakia between 1998 and 2006, having captained the country when it joined the EU in 2004. Montserrat was Spain’s health and equality minister between 2016 and 2018.

The national convention, titled Malta ’l Quddiem, was a pledge made by PN leader Alex Borg during the leadership contest and is intended as a listening exercise that will inform the party’s policies.

“The convention is open to everyone and not only the party’s members because we want to listen to what people and interest groups have to say, irrespective of their political inclinations or backgrounds,” a PN spokesperson told MaltaToday. “This is why we have invited the social partners, NGOs and other organisations, apart from putting out an open invite to members of the public.”

The convention will be held at the Excelsior Hotel in Floriana and is spread over two days. Themed workshops will be held on Saturday with the convention coming to a close on Sunday with a speech by Alex Borg.

The PN will use the convention as a platform to draft a series of policies that will form the basis its electoral manifesto for the forthcoming election.

The dialogue is expected to centre around six key themes: Quality of life that encompasses population growth, traffic and the environment; wealth that reaches everyone with a focus on the cost of living, adequate wages, a sustainable economy that enables better work-life balance; strong communities with a focus on essential services, planning laws, urban mobility, and local councils; a government that takes care of people, which will focus on social services and health; a Malta ready for the future with a focus on education, AI, sports and culture; and Gozo.