Alex Borg says he plans small changes to the shadow cabinet

PN leader Alex Borg is planning to carry out a small reshuffle of the shadow cabinet but says he is not planning major changes so close to a general election. 

Interviewed on TVM's Xtra programme on Monday evening, the new PN leader said the reshuffle was needed to introduce changes such as responsibility for artificial intelligence and matters such as solitude, which should be treated separately from mental health.

Borg, who was interviewed by Karl Azzopardi, made no direct reference to the controversy raised on Monday afternoon when Adrian Delia’s campaign team suggested in a letter to the PN electoral commission that a number of “ineligible” voters may have cast their ballot during the Nationalist Party’s leadership election. The commission later said it had examined the allegations made and, following its investigation, declared that the outcome of the election was correct.

Borg said the long time it took for the electoral result to be issued showed how careful the commission was to ensure that everything was done well. The leadership election's close result - a difference of just 44 votes -  showed how PN members saw potential in both candidates and he would therefore work to bring Delia supporters on board and have a united party, something, he said, which Labour feared most. Indeed, most people were already rallying behind a single banner now that the election was over. 

In his interview, Borg reiterated plans to appoint a party CEO responsible mainly for financial matters, while the general secretary would focus on politics and the party media. He also reiterated a promise to publish the long-overdue PN accounts before the general election. He would also publish his own campaign accounts shortly.

He said a Nationalist government would not row back on civil rights introduced by the Labour government - he too believed in civil rights and would take part in the pride march due in the coming weeks. A future PN government would also retain legislation such as cannabis for personal use. As for euthanasia, should legislation come before parliament, he would grant a free vote to PN MPs while he would vote against. One should show empathy and not impose on the people on such matters, he said.

On immigration, Borg said a labour market study was needed before action was taken. One needed a proper study to see which sectors needed foreign workers, which didn't and how more Maltese could be encouraged to work in particular sectors, such as through the reopening of trade schools.

Asked to react to criticism that he was very close to the construction lobby, Borg said he worked with everyone but was 'in nobody's pocket'.

 "No one pulls my strings", he insisted. As a politician, he would meet everyone but decide in the interests of Malta and Gozo as a whole, something which was not the case for the Labour government.

An inclusive PN

Borg said he was promising an inclusive PN. "I want everyone included in the PN," he said. He would seek the experience of people such as including Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech and would also be reaching out to young people. 

He would also propose a party deputy leader for parliamentary affairs once the PN carried out the required changes to its statute. He also reiterated plans to quickly appoint an electoral campaign manager to have the party prepared for a general election, whenever it was called. A crowdfunding campaign would also be launched quickly to fund the electoral campaign. 

Borg said he was confident that he, as a new leader would 'spark' many people to join the PN, seeing a new chapter for the party and the country. Indeed, he had already seen disgruntled Labourites and Nationalists coming back, and he was greatly encouraged by that.