A day after being overwhelmingly confirmed party leader, Lawrence Gonzi gave a sober, almost apologetic, speech.
Dr Gonzi now needs to convince Maltese citizens that he means business- Frank Portelli
Addressing party supporters on Sunday, the Prime Minister admitted his party should prick up its ears and promised to find a happier balance between managing “the bigger picture” and being sensitive to everyone’s needs: dissenters included.
To kick start the discussion and act as his hearing aid, he appointed Simon Busuttil as a special delegate, prompting some speculation about whether the charismatic MEP will eventually be anointed his successor.
The Prime Minister’s change of tactic appears to have already gone a long way with MP Franco Debono, who prompted the leadership vote by threatening to depose the government, then abstaining from a parliamentary vote of confidence.
But how far will Dr Gonzi’s words and “initiatives” go to build bridges and heal wounds with disgruntled Nationalists and uncommitted voters?
Former PN president Frank Portelli, who chose to “send a message” by not collecting his voting document for the leadership contest, said Dr Gonzi’s meetings with hundreds of PN councillors over the past weeks “must have been an eye opener”.
“When one meets individuals on a one-to-one basis you learn important lessons,” he said, warning that if the PN did not reach disgruntled voters “the writing is on the wall”.
“Dr Gonzi now needs to convince Maltese citizens he means business,” he added, citing failure to tackle corruption as one example of the government’s pitfalls.
He said it was unacceptable that in a country where 80 per cent believed corruption was widespread, the Whistleblower’s Act promised five years ago had remained on the shelf.
He added that many civil servants were neither civil, nor serving the public, and this was an issue which had to be dealt with.
Dr Portelli, who had been given a similar role to Dr Busuttil’s before the 2008 election, when he was tasked with bringing back the lost sheep, said the experience had been “heart wrenching”.
According to commentator and government adviser Martin Scicluna, Dr Gonzi was learning his lessons, as politicians usually did when they were “publicly slapped down” or faced the reality of party polls.
He said the initiatives to listen more attentively reflected what the party’s polls were saying about ordinary people’s concerns – the pressures on their salaries and living standards, not the eurozone crisis.
“We are now in full election mode and the two steps Dr Gonzi has just announced are an important way of saying ‘look, trust me. I do know how you feel. I can feel your pain. And together I and my trusted team can find the solutions’.”
Mr Scicluna said there might just be enough time to regain the electorate’s trust “but there is a mountain to climb and Dr Gonzi will be judged by his actions, not his words”. Philosopher Joe Friggieri said this was the first time Dr Gonzi had acknowledged his government was at an “all-time low”, as had long been expressed through opinion polls. In a “subdued” tone, Dr Gonzi grappled with the paradox that, while the country was doing well in most fields, people were still disgruntled on a personal level in many ways.
“Realising that if an election were held tomorrow, the party would suffer one of the worst defeats in recent history, Dr Gonzi is trying to find an answer to that irritating question,” Prof. Friggieri said.The former Nationalist MEP candidate saw Dr Gonzi’s proposals as a “damage-limiting exercise” before the outbreak of the impending storm.
“The government will need to take some very drastic measures if it is to address the long-standing grievances among the electorate that Dr Gonzi has identified... It still has to be seen whether the party can turn the tide at this stage.”