The Nationalist Party's deputy leader Mario de Marco presented his party as a centre-left alternative to a Labour government that had drifted to the right as he addressed the party's general council this evening.

While a number of PN politicians - including party leader Simon Busuttil - has implied that the party is now to the left of a right-leaning Labour Party, Dr de Marco was perhaps most explicit in his assessment, stating that in the face of an apparently right-wing government, the PN should consider itself to be a party of the centre-left.

He noted that the PN has always believed in Christian democracy, before quoting former Italian Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi - the founder of Italy's Christian Democracy Party - who described the ideology as "the centre that looks towards the left."

Dr de Marco also argued that the party should be strong on environmental issues, in the face of a government that "neglects the environment so that (Malta Developers Association president) Sandro Chetcuti is happy."

"If there is something that is truly 'tagħna lkoll', it is the environment," the PN deputy leader maintained, echoing the Labour Party's electoral slogan.

In his address, Dr de Marco also referred to the aftermath of last week's Gżira shooting, which led to the driver of National Security Minister Manuel Mallia facing an attempted murder charge.

He noted that while it may be true that one of the retired judges understood politics well and was politically very close to the Labour Party - a clear reference to former Labour MP Philip Sciberras - he said that this did not mean that the board could determine who should be held politically responsible.

Dr de Marco also condemned the way the scene of the crime was tampered with before investigations could start.

"The minister is not a doctor, not an architect, not a teacher... he was or is - or will soon be - a criminal defence lawyer, who should know that evidence should not be removed before an investigation takes place," he maintained.

The theme of the general council is "honest politics," and earlier in the day, PN general secretary Chris Said noted that while the theme was chosen weeks ago, recent developments made it appear to be prophetic.

He said that the government was in freefall, but emphasised that the PN would be mistaken to assume that the Labour Party had lost the trust it had gained to win last year's election. The PN still faced an uphill struggle, he said, but could achieve success if it continued to work in unison.

Dr Said said that he was convinced that were it not for the pressure of the PN and of the media, the Gżira shooting - which has led to Minister Manuel Mallia's driver being charged with attempted murder - would have been downplayed as the firing of warning shots.

He pointed out that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat found no problem in removing former deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia and former Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia, but was reluctant to do the same with Dr Mallia even though his case was far graver.

The PN general secretary also condemned the insulting language towards single parents used in the budget, pointing out that while the PN would always agree with fighting benefits abuse - and had acted in this regard - such language was unacceptable.

In his intervention, MP Claudio Grech insisted that PN leader Simon Busuttil's speech in parliament last Monday was a turning point, stating that it helped make the party relevant again.

He said that while many had written off the party, and said that it would spend at least 10 years in opposition, he was confident that after five years, the country would have the Prime Minister it deserved.