As it happened: PN pledges pension increases as Labour makes fertility promises
Follow events on the campaign trail with our live blog
The Nationalist Party has promised pensioners a €650 annual increase and cheaper care home fees while Labour is pledging more 24/7 health centres and free fertility tests.
It’s Monday, May 11 and the general election campaign is in day 14.
Both major parties held press conferences in the morning to make new pitches to voters - and there were more promises of handouts to voters.
The Nationalist Party will rally supporters in Valletta this evening. Labour's Robert Abela will speak in Għaxaq following a brief appearance in Pieta.
As it happened
Tonight: Abela in Għaxaq, Borg in Valletta
6.40pm Labour leader Robert Abela will speak in Għaxaq tonight. Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg is in Valletta.
We will have full reports of both those events once they are over.
This live blog will end here. Thank you for having joined us.
Children present their ideas
6pm More than 500 children have helped draft a manifesto featuring 132 proposals for political parties.
Among their ideas:
- Limited noisy construction during exams
- More BCRS bins
- Fix old telephone boxes
- 24/7 free shuttles to hospital for senior citizens
There's a lot more - you can read it all here. The manifesto was spearheaded by the Children’s Local Councils and coordinated by the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society.
Whiff of AI slop
5.50pm Labour launched its electoral campaign with a flashy one-shot video advert. Perhaps they blew the marketing budget on that glitzy production, because this animated video they've just released seems... off.
Check out the AI voiceover pronunciation of "Gozitan".
Franco Debono eyes a return?
5.20pm Franco Debono, who has been rather quiet throughout the campaign so far, has been teasing a potential political comeback for years.
Will it happen in 2026?
Debono has just published a series of posts featuring screenshots of messages urging him to contest the general election. “I’ve been receiving hundreds of these,” the Għaxaq lawyer writes.
Borg Manché to run for PN
5.05pm Conrad Borg Manché, the former Labour mayor of Gżira, will contest the election as a Nationalist Party candidate.
Borg Manché broke with Labour in 2023 and contested the 2024 MEP elections as an independent candidate. At the time, he insisted he still held "socialist principles".
Read the full story about this PN run.
Borg and Metsola in Valletta
3.35pm Alex Borg and Roberta Metsola did some campaigning on Valletta's Republic Street today. And they ran into a colleague outside the law courts, a video Borg posted shows.
Hotheads
3.20pm Clinical psychologist Nicholas Briffa says he's receiving screenshots of people getting increasingly aggressive about politics on social media.
He's urged everyone to take a deep breath and remember that candidates are human beings, too.
"Let's discuss ideas and proposals, but there's a line of respect that nobody should cross," he tells his followers.
Abela to run on 2nd and 5th
2.05pm Labour leader Robert Abela has submitted his nomination to the electoral commission. And as he did in 2022, he will be contesting the 2nd and 5th districts.
UPE presents its proposals
1.50pm The Union of Professional Educators has forwarded its electoral proposals. Among others, it would like to see:
- Educators get tax-free overtime, including supervision duties;
- Major overhaul of inclusive education, including specialised mainstream units for autistic students and a phased professionalisation of LSEs;
- A €2,000 annual credit for educators to spend on electronics, devices, and sports equipment
- Early retirement options after 30 years of service.
Rivals, but family
1.20pm When family members of Deborah Schembri and Jonathan Muscat stand inside District 12 voting booths on May 30, they will face a dilemma.
Do they vote for Deborah (PL) or Jonathan (PN)?
The two candidates are relatives, contesting the election for rival parties in the same district.
"We have different political ideals, differing opinions and I’m sure we’ll engage in a few passionate debates but I’m positive we will be living proof that politics can be done without maliciousness, for the right reasons and with the sole aim of leaving this country a better place for our children," Schembri wrote on Facebook.
What a pleasant, uplifting post. Best of luck to the both of them.
What is Labour promising for healthcare?
1.05pm Robert Abela led a Labour press conference focused on healthcare proposals this morning. Pledges touch on Mater Dei, health centres and fertility clinics.
What is the PN promising pensioners?
12.45pm Earlier today, Alex Borg and his candidates made a number of pledges targeting pensioners and senior citizens.
Aħwa Maltin
12.40pm Conservative party Aħwa Maltin has said its candidates have all registered their runs with the electoral commission. The party did not name them though, save for party leader Paul Salomone, who will contest the 2nd and 13th districts.
Aħwa Maltin candidates.NET gets its Facebook page back
12.30pm Earlier, we reported that NET News had its Facebook page taken offline as a result of a brigading campaign. The page is now back online.
PN candidate Beppe Galea called the incident "a serious attack on freedom of expression".
"This is a warning of how far some people will go to shut up the opposition and independent media," he said.
On-the-spot fines for tourists
12.15pm As of June 1, non-resident foreigners (i.e. tourists) will have to pay on-the-spot fines if they are caught littering, being rowdy or breaking waste regulations.
Momentum notes it had proposed this a while back.
Party chairperson Arnold Cassola says the measure should also apply to Maltese citizens.
"What is the difference between a foreign tenant or a Maltese landlord leaving out the rubbish on the wrong day in Swieqi, Sliema or Gżira? What is the difference between a Maltese vandal or an Italian or Spanish one smashing car side mirrors along the road?" he asks.
Plans for Karin Grech Hospital
11.40am Abela says Labour will be unveiling a “masterplan” for Karin Grech Hospital. (Work to relocate patients elsewhere to repurpose the Guardamangia building began last year).
Labour is also pledging expanded screening services for various cancers (breast, prostate, lung) and an expanded HPV vaccine made available to men.
Free IVF to expand
11.35am Abela is making various pledges focused on medicine and healthcare.
They include adding more innovative medicines to the public health formulary, adding 150 more beds to Mater Dei Hospital, increasing the number of free IVF cycles from three to five and free fertility testing for anyone aged 18 to 25.
Labour press conference
11.15am Robert Abela is speaking at a Labour press conference.
Watch it in the video below.
Tax-free pensioners' income
11.10am In reply to a question, PN candidate Graham Bencini makes it clear that the PN will also make all pensioner income up to €37,000 tax-free.
That was a promise Alex Borg made a while back after a misleading claim by Robert Abela.
Grants for grandparents
10.58am Here's another PN pledge: an annual €2,000 to grandparents who care for children aged under 3 (i.e. kids eligible for childcare centres).
And senior citizens will also be eligible to free GP home visits by their doctor of choice.
PN promises pension increases
10.55am The PN is pledging to increase pensions by €650 per year.
It also proposes increasing the cap on personal retirement schemes (i.e. private pension plans) to €4,000. That will mean people with such plans will be eligible for an annual tax rebate of up to €1,000 (up from €750).
And it also pledges to double grants given to senior citizens who choose to continue living in their private homes.
Cheaper care homes for senior citizens
10.51am The PN is targeting senior citizens in residential care. The party is pledging to reduce the share of pensions deducted to cover care costs. Residents will only have 50% of their pension taken, rather than 70%.
It is also promising to double grants to senior citizens who choose to continue living in their homes.
NET Facebook page targeted
10.41am NET News' Facebook page is currently offline after it was the target of a mass reporting campaign, Alex Borg says. He says the party is speaking to Meta (Facebook's parent company) about getting it back online.
PN press conference
10.40am Alex Borg is leading a press conference at PN HQ.
Watch it in the video below.
Sexual harassment
10.05am As we wait for those press conferences to begin, it's worth reflecting on something that often goes unsaid or unreported: the constant harassment women in public life face.
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci shared a (tiny) anecdote about that last week.
Watch it in the video below.
Press conferences this morning
9.25am Both major parties have called press conferences to be held this morning.
PN - 10am at party headquarters.
Labour - 10.30am in Ta' Qali.
We will have live videos of both once they get under way.
Hindsight is 20/20
8.35am We asked Alfred Sant and Lawrence Gonzi to reflect on the way in which governments abuse their power of incumbency to gain the upper hand in electoral campaigns.
Both, unsurprisingly, said the other side was the worst culprit. And both claim to have a good idea about how to fix the problem.
Read more about what they had to say.
About that lido
8.25am Momentum was among the first to raise concerns about plans to develop a lido on reclaimed land opposite Manoel Island.
Now its 7th and 10th district candidate Pierre Schembri Wismayer has welcomed the strong stance taken by mayors of Sliema and Gżira, who have both said they are dead-set against the project.
Party leader Arnold Cassola (who is running on districts 9 and 10) said: "Momentum reiterates its firm position that no public land or sea should ever be surrendered for private commercial profit. Our coastline is part of our national heritage and must remain accessible, open and protected for everyone."