Newly-elected Nationalist Party general secretary Paul Borg Olivier said yesterday he felt extremely motivated by a "dynamic" Prime Minister who provided him with the enthusiasm to give his all to the party.
Dr Borg Olivier told The Sunday Times that he had several priorities for the party, among them introducing a self-critical approach, strengthening the party's regional and sectional committees, updating its communication methods and sending out a message of dialogue.
Dr Borg Olivier was elected to the post with 68 per cent of votes cast by PN executive committee members. He replaces Joe Saliba, who left the job after nine years.
The Valletta mayor said the PN had to continue providing political substance.
"The Nationalist Party has to be more self-critical. The fact that we've been a party in government for a number of years makes this aspect of self-criticism a strength and not a weakness because it will spur the government in its work and will keep it on track," he said.
Dr Borg Olivier said the PN also had to improve on its one-to-one approach, using its newspapers, radio and television station to strengthen dialogue. This, he said, was important because it was based on people and what they wanted.
Asked whether he thought there were Nationalists who felt let down by their party, Dr Borg Olivier replied bluntly: "I would be a fool to think otherwise".
"I think that the party needs to open itself up to these people who are Nationalists and who might be hurt. It doesn't mean you are going to reach the expectations of everybody but we have to listen, channel and guide and we also have to tell the truth."
Commenting on recent electoral results, Dr Borg Olivier said it was true that the party lost some of its political base and this was why it had to take on more of a self-critical role.
He said that he saw nothing wrong with "being our own opposition" by "criticising ourselves and also the government when we feel it necessary. We have to be critical in order to achieve better results," he said.
Asked about Charlo Bonnici, the other contender for the general secretary post, Dr Borg Olivier said that unlike the MLP, the PN had no personal piques.
He said he was looking forward to working with Mr Bonnici and all those who had been touted for this job, including Simon Busuttil and Beppe Fenech Adami, as well as with all the party executive, ministers and MPs.
"To Charlo I will say this: I will look for his support and he has mine. In a contest, when you believe in what you're doing, you are never a loser and I definitely do not see Charlo as a loser in this but as a champion who had the courage to contest this election together with me."
Before Friday's election, Dr Borg Olivier had made it clear that he would be stepping down from all his political roles if elected. He confirmed that he will be drafting his resignation letter as mayor of Valletta in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Dr Borg Olivier was yesterday congratulated by his Labour counterpart Jason Micallef. In a statement, Mr Micallef expressed his hope that Dr Borg Olivier's leadership would be "politically correct and clean" without personal attacks on the Labour leadership and its representatives.