Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi gave a crucial speech on Sunday in which he appealed for party unity. Christian Peregin dissects some of the main messages in his address with the help of philosopher Joe Friggieri, columnist Claire Bonello, historian Dominic Fenech and former government adviser Martin Scicluna.

“As long as we remain together, we will overcome all the challenges. As long as we remain united, respecting each other’s positions, we can continue to run this great country, even after the next election.”

Gonzi’s call for unity:

Joe Friggieri: I’m sure Dr Gonzi is fully aware of the problems facing the party and the government at the moment. When parliamentary majorities are slim, the slightest personality clash may cause a political earthquake. I think he is doing his utmost to patch up differences with the dissident MPs whose support he so badly needs. The dissidents might go on asking for more but there will certainly be a limit to what Dr Gonzi can concede.

Claire Bonello: This is a necessary but desperate call for unity. There are deep rifts and disagreements within the PN. Trying to attract all types of voters every election is a winning ploy but results in a loose coalition which falls apart under the first sign of stress.

Dominic Fenech: An earnest call for sure. The party is divided in two ways: the inner versus the outer circles and those with conservative values versus those with a more liberal outlook –this is a more serious ideological divide which is harder to reconcile. Other than that, he’s really just borrowing from the Labour Party’s idea of a movement of moderates and progressives.

Martin Scicluna: It is an honest call by somebody who sees disunity all around him.

“I promised to be of service to this country. But in the way I know, with my style, with my values, my character and my dignity. That is what I tried to do and I am ready to continue doing it so long as I enjoy the faith of the PN’s councillors.”

Asserting his leadership

JF: I have a feeling that grassroot support for Dr Gonzi is still very strong. The cracks in the party are the result of internal pressure, rather than a sign of widespread disgruntlement among the rank and file. With the government it may be different. Utility tariffs are high and the promise for tax deductions has not been kept.

CB: The PM may be trying to take us back to the time when the GonziPN brand won the election against the odds. However, it might be unwise to do so now, considering the brand is tainted by both the honoraria saga and the lack of leadership shown on divorce.

DF: He’s just saying ‘don’t judge my performance only by my recent bumbling, because you know there’s more to me’.

MS: He is fearful, not so much of a leadership challenge as of Banquo’s ghost in the shape of (former President and party leader) Eddie Fenech Adami shouting from the sidelines.

“We are a party that loved and loves our religion. It is not a coincidence that our emblem carries the Latin phrase: Religio et Patria (religion and country), which we did not remove... We should never be ashamed of saying we are a democratic and Christian party, democratic and Christian... As long as there is a majority in Parliament to approve divorce, I will fully defend the free choice of MPs on how to vote or abstain.”

Divorce: democracy or Christianity?

JF: Religio et Patria is an old slogan well past its sell-by date. The sooner the party gets rid of it, the better. The divorce issue hit the government like the proverbial bolt from the blue. It didn’t quite know how to deal with it. Now that the people have decided, MPs are duty bound to respect that decision. I honestly can’t understand why there has to be so much soul-searching at this stage.

CB: I think such declarations are counterproductive and actually alienating voters who respect the Church but feel there must be further distinction between Church and State. The PM’s vote is a test of leadership and will have a bearing on whether the Nationalist Party entrenches itself further in a closed, conservative mode or tries to adopt a more moderate and open position.

DF: Religio et Patria is a slogan from a past when the PN was a Siamese twin with the Church. I don’t understand where or why he pulled it out. It’s a badge of confessionalism which must be to the liberal elements within the PN what a red rag is to a bull. As regards the eventual vote, I’m sure there’s horse trading going on backstage to establish how MPs will vote in order to secure the numbers. Maybe they do it in such a way to make Dr Gonzi’s vote appear decisive should he make up his mind to vote Yes.

MS: Religio et Patria is a thoroughly outdated, almost fascist, slogan. It should be dropped.

“...we did not listen enough and we definitely did not explain enough. We ended up looking insensitive today for something we did three years ago...We made a series of mistakes. But I am the Prime Minister and I shoulder full responsibility for this decision.”

Honoraria apology

JF: It’s an honest apology, but the Opposition will still use that particular stick to hit the government with in the run-up to the next elections. The whole saga could have been avoided.

CB: The rules of good public relations strategy are: address a problem immediately, disclose all the information and apologise unreservedly. At least two of these rules have been broken with the obvious fall-out. At this point we don’t know whether this is a genuine apology or long overdue damage limitation.

DF: The apology was required to compensate the restless backbenchers for having eaten humble pie and voted with the government.

MS: It’s a pretty honest and fulsome apology in the circumstances –without committing hari kari.

“We have a lot of work to do in the next couple of years to ensure our party is open, transparent and inclusive, while creating jobs, prioritising health, providing education and protecting the environment. We have to provide an exciting and adventurous vision for young people. Together everything is possible.”

A vision for the future

JF: Considering the huge economic and financial crises that have brought other European countries to their knees, the government has done a good job. By protecting jobs it has managed to avoid the kind of social unrest that has hit countries like Spain, Greece, Portugal… It has also dealt extremely well with the Libyan crisis.

CB: There is nothing particularly innovative in this speech. Nothing that hasn’t been said countless times before in similar speeches.

DF: In theory, what can be more important than jobs, health, education and the environment? But the salient issue of the future is going to be sustainability, especially financial, and we’ve been pushing it to the limit, not an evidently exciting and adventurous vision from the point of view of young people.

MS: You can’t go wrong in promoting these issues. He forgot the battle for the euro, however.