The people have spoken, loud and clear. Having won most of the important elections over the past 25 years, it is now the PN’s turn to carry out the unenviable but absolutely necessary task of analysing defeat.

We must rebuild our party, rebuild its structures, rebuild its credibility

A defeat of this magnitude cannot be the result of one factor. It is the sum total of many things gone wrong. At the same time it is the result of a party being the victim of its own successes. It is also perhaps the result of our party ignoring the signs on the wall for too long.

It is time for the PN to truly open up its ears to what the electorate is saying and to recognise, moreover, that our society has changed.

I have some considerations in this regard but before I go into them I would like to put on record once again my appreciation for Lawrence Gonzi’s premiership.

He is leaving Malta in a much better state than it was handed to him nine years ago. He had the difficult task of following in the footsteps of an icon. That he did it for so long and so effectively is to his credit. History did not reserve for him a graceful exit yet he leaves the political scene with his head held high, having protected this country from one of the worst economic recessions in history.

His last term in office was replete with challenges, including internal party strife. I am sure there were days when he questioned whether the office was worth the pain. Yet he stayed on, driven by his sense of responsibility and duty.

Now the task of governing this country goes to Joseph Muscat and the task of leading the Nationalist Party goes to whoever is chosen by the party delegates in the coming weeks.

Muscat has to deliver on the promises he made. He has to do so without damaging the economy. He also has to manage the pent-up expectations of some of his party’s faithful who will not be too keen on seeing a Malta tagħna lkoll.

The Nationalist Party has an important role to play in this regard. In opposition, we need to be monitoring closely the workings of Government, making sure that it will not undo all that we, as a nation, managed to achieve over the past years. We have to be there to safeguard the rights of each and every resident of these islands. When the Government acts in the interest of our nation, we will support it. When it moves against our national interest, it will find an Opposition strong in resolve.

At the same time as carrying out our duties in Opposition, we must rebuild our party, rebuild its structures, rebuild its credibility and rebuild its bridges. We spent the last five years being attacked from within, bleeding support in the process.

We need to forget the hurt, forget our pride and work to bring back into the fold those who shifted allegiance. We need to regain the trust of the younger generations. It may no longer be cool to be a Nationalist. Being no longer the establishment will help, but it will not be enough. We have to earn their respect.

We evidently also lost the support of sections of the business community, despite the measures introduced over five years to support them, and likewise must reach out to them. Clearly the economic growth of this country in the face of international recession did not trickle down enough.

Middle income earners, most of all, felt the pinch as a result of less disposable income, and the revision in tax bands announced in the last Budget was considered to be too little, too late. The reassurances that, we as a country, did not have it as bad as others, was clearly not enough.

Change, moreover, was no longer a fear. People living in a comfort zone, created by the very Nationalist Party in government, did not feel threatened by the prospect of change; people outside the comfort zone felt they had nothing to lose by change.

Our voice in the traditional media was severely muted because we did not nurture an on-going rapport with the independent media. Our own party media spoke almost exclusively to the party faithful. Our voice was often drowned out in the social media and internet sites.

We failed to adapt to the changing nature of Maltese society as we struggled to bring together the liberal and conservative elements of the party. Our attempts at reaching out to the gay community was evidently not convincing enough. The fact that the election result is nearly identical to the result of the divorce referendum is in itself an eye-opener.

Other shortcomings need to be addressed. We need to evaluate our election campaign strategy which failed to capture the imagination of the electorate. This was partly due to the Labour Party having more resources at its disposal. But the problem goes beyond resources. It may serve as a lesson in the future on how not to run a campaign.

This election has taught us that the electorate is more interested in the party’s ability to deliver in the future and less about what it delivered in the past. More importantly the electorate does not relish negative campaigning directed at the person rather than the message. Society expects higher standards from politicians, not only in the way we do politics but also in the way we talk politics.

We have to admit that Labour dictated the agenda for most of the campaign, promising a Malta for all. What vision did we offer in return?

But it would be a mistake if we attempt to move forward while looking backwards. This is not the time for witch hunts within the party administration, finger pointing, recriminations or self-flagellation. As Gonzi said on Sunday, the result provides the party with the inevitable opportunity to reinvigorate itself and regenerate itself for the future.

The PN is the party that gave this country a glorious past. It is also the party that can give this country a future, a future that starts now. We have a duty to carry out, to be a credible and constructive Opposition. This will be the first step to regaining respect and trust of the electorate. We then need to develop and communicate a vision, a vision based on legitimate people’s expectations.

This is how we can address the gap between the parties. It is not an easy task but one which we can and will carry out. We need to move these five years forward together.