The PN's next project should be on a local level

The Nationalist Party has done a lot of good. In doing so, it also lacked attention to many people who felt sidelined or ignored. Be they right or wrong, these people had no one to turn to, a political icon with whom to share their troubles. Many of these people where massaged and pampered at the last hour, some even by the Prime Minister himself. A lot of them where comforted by a last-minute gesture and turned out to cast their vote; others were not impressed and remained home. Most of these people are now wasting phone-cards trying to reach those who chased them before March 8.

Eventually they'll get through the maze of the newly-composed government but it will take them a while. Some will just wait around for the next electoral calling and if by then no one would have returned their call they'll just do what they intended to do before the Prime Minister knocked at their door not long before the Ides of March.

The PN is still the natural government of the country. It has shown vision, credibility and competence throughout the years it has governed this nation. The PN has made great things for the country and for itself but for one little organisational flaw. Since 1987 it has lacked proper management of its local network.

People are disgruntled because they cannot understand how party officials seem to have lost the formula of basic customer care. On the other hand, local officials are tired and helpless in front of stalemate situations whereby people cannot be helped.

This situation has to change. If the PN wants to continue being a great political force in this country, the next top project for the new secretary general must be a reform of the party's local administration.

Very soon the new administration of the party will move to the newly-built headquarters. Like Moses, who did not make it to the Promised Land, Joe Saliba will not dwell into the new block he conceived and built.

The new premises are great. A true state-of-the-art building that reflects the status of the party it is meant to house. But buildings are static and tend to grow old by time. It's what will live inside the new headquarters that will determine the standard of living of so many people, the majority of whom will venture beyond Stamperija's front door.

The PN has vision... in abundance. It can overwhelm the opposition too even if the latter decide to do away with their arrogance of no repent. But the PN can fall victim of its own success if immediate care is not taken. The local committees' structures and the local councilors' branch need to undergo major surgery and fast.

Party representatives on a local level must have the much-needed backup to perform their voluntary work. The new secretary general cannot wait around for the next electoral defeat to set off this project. This should be the main thrust of the PN's work in the next two years. It is just as important as the EU referendum was, or the construction of the new headquarters or the setting up of the party's media.

The reform has to bear the first fruits in the European parliamentary elections in a year's time and in local elections too. Local committees need to start functioning as they did in the past, with people knowing that their hard work will be recognised and backed up by the administrators in Pietà. These people have performed miracles with the little support they had and thanks to the skill of outgoing deputy secretary general Angelito Sciberras who kept a smooth operation running notwithstanding all the problems.

Former ministers and parliamentary secretaries should also get busy again in their party. Crying over the fact that they were not re-elected or re-appointed will not serve the cause they entered politics for in the first place. Their experience will serve the PN to restructure in a more dynamic way.

Next is the party media. Whether or not the party decides to keep running its own media is a different issue; this too has to go through a restructuring process.

The PN's broadcasting stations and newspapers cannot keep trailing behind and the excuse that this is due to the fact that the PN has less loyal supporters than the MLP is running out of steam. Good programmes attract audiences, whatever the station. Santa Monica on Net TV and Giselle on One TV are vivid examples.

As to news, this cannot be only the party's tune. News items should be critical of the government where needed and support worthy causes whether or not these fall in line with the government's policy.

When Lawrence Gonzi adopted Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando's stand against the construction of a landfill next door to the Mnajdra Temples, all of us felt proud because we had affected change from within on an issue of national import. More of this should be encouraged and government ministers do not have to feel threatened by a free party media.

Mr Portelli, a former head of news at Media.Link, will be contesting the election for the PN executive council.