Seven questions for the PN’s next leader

Nationalist councillors go to the polls today to elect a new leader. But where do the four candidates stand on ideological and policy issues? Bertrand Borg finds out. Describe your political ideology in three words. Raymond Bugeja: Conservative with a liberal heart, capitalist with a social heart. Simon Busuttil: I am a person of the centre. Mario de Marco: De Gasperi’s centre-left. Francis Zammit Dimech: Close to the people. Do people who earn more have a moral obligation to contribute more taxes? Bugeja: They already would with the same tax rate. They should instead be encouraged to earn even more so as to invest and spend, thus favouring employment growth. Busuttil: Yes. They already do. De Marco: Yes, in relative proportion to the people who earn less, but not to the extent that strangles entrepreneurship and desire for growth. Zammit Dimech: Yes. Is Malta’s euro membership absolute? Bugeja: Very few things are absolute – the euro is not. Busuttil: Nothing is absolute. But Malta’s EU membership is the best thing that has happened to our country since Independence. De Marco: Few things in life are absolute. Undoubtedly, Malta gained a lot by adopting the euro and we should...