I absolutely disagree with those who argue that following the divorce referendum result the Nationalist Party is the biggest loser. I would say that the result benefited the PN in many ways, provided it takes some sensible decisions in the coming days and months.
The way forward for the PN is clear. The party has always been a broad church – a Christian democrat party under whose umbrella social liberals and moderates find their natural home. It can’t afford not to remain so now. If the PN really and truly wants to remain a broad coalition of Christian democrats, social liberals and moderates alike then it needs to put a social liberal agenda on top of its priorities.
I chose the PN because I am a social liberal by instinct, a firm believer in social justice, solidarity, free trade, social market economy and environmental sustainability. These principles are enshrined in the basic principles and beliefs of the PN.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s the likes of Eddie Fenech Adami, Guido de Marco, Louis Galea and Ugo Mifsud Bonnici transformed the PN, radically shedding its much perceived confessional image and embarking on a fast- paced reform towards a social liberal agenda embedded in Christian democrat thinking. The PN went on to transform the country: democracy, pluralism, a social market economy, dialogue, solidarity, a revolutionised education system and Malta’s EU membership, you name it, the PN achieved it and the country benefited from it and prospered.
Forward that to the present. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi did and is doing an excellent job despite the fact that the world is still recovering from the worst financial meltdown in the past 80 years. Jobs have been saved thanks to the government’s sensible economic policies while thousands of new high quality jobs have been generated.
When Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando came along with his divorce legislation Bill he caught everyone by surprise, not least the PN – his party. Divorce was not on the PN’s cards but the party leader took the sensible decision to allow his MP to go ahead with his Bill and immediately made it clear that the issue was to be decided by the electorate in a referendum.
It was a bold decision by Dr Gonzi despite his genuine objection to divorce.
The PN unanimously, through its executive, took an official stand against divorce. This seems to have taken many social liberal PN voters by surprise apparently disenchanting many in the process. Divorce, they argued, was a civil right, a personal choice and their party was wrong to take an official stand against it. They openly declared their intention to vote yes in the referendum even if that meant going against the party’s stand and despite the fact that Labour leader Joseph Muscat was vociferously in favour of divorce legislation.
Dr Gonzi did not render their choice difficult. He made it clear from day one that a free vote would be given to his MPs and that everyone was free to vote according to his/her conscience. The rest is now history. Many PN voters said no to divorce but a significant number of Nationalists (very significant to swing the pendulum either way in 2013) voted yes, clearly influencing the outcome of the referendum.
There is no denying that the Yes vote won the day thanks not least to thousands of Nationalist voters who said yes while thousands of Labourites did not bother to vote. For many Labourite voters it was a choice between Archbishop Paul Cremona and Dr Muscat. They chose none.
Perhaps it is still early days to decide whether the party did the right thing in adopting an official position against divorce legislation but right now what matters most is that the many social liberal PN voters who felt disappointed by the party’s stand return to the fold without undue haste. For this to happen the party needs to forcefully put forward its social liberal agenda and urgently take up some very important issues that need to be addressed, namely IVF legislation and cohabitation laws, that would be the first step. Following that, more concrete measures need to be taken, not least legislating some much needed and long overdue civil liberties the country can’t afford to postpone any longer.
In no way does this mean that the party alienates its grass roots who tend to be more conservative by nature but it is a given that unless the party caters for many a social liberal it will have a difficult task come 2013.
The PN is synonymous with liberty, free choice, respect for human dignity and, above all, solidarity. A healthier social liberal agenda benefits the party but above all the country. The PN needs to win back the trust of many social liberal voters and it needs to do so now.
Dr Psaila is the Nationalist Party’s information director.