Busuttil: PN must win back Gozitans

The Nationalist Party must redouble its efforts to win back the people’s trust in Gozo, leadership contender Simon Busuttil said yesterday.

We must revisit the party’s structures to reflect island’s regional status

Speaking at a meeting in Għajnsielem, Dr Busuttil said Gozo had traditionally supported PN as their natural choice for government – with the exception of last election.

The party now must reverse the situation with a stronger representation for Gozo within the party structures.

“First we need to strengthen our presence among Gozitans throughout the entire five years and not just before an election. Secondly, we need to revisit the party’s structures to reflect the island’s regional status.”

The Nationalist Party had to attract a new generation of activists in Gozo “especially youths” who needed to be empowered to work in “new and welcoming structures”.

Dr Busuttil said he had received reports that, in its first three weeks, the Labour Government had already allowed several employees in Malta to change departments “to pay for its electoral promises”.

This was creating confusion and leaving certain workplaces undermanned. However, he warned that “if Labour tries to pay for its votes at the expense of other workers, we will strongly challenge them”.

Meanwhile, Francis Zammit Dimech, also a PN leadership candidate, said an integral part of the Nationalist Party’s renewal is a stronger and more active youth movement.

Addressing party members in Żejtun, Dr Zammit Dimech said the party had to start identifying possible candidates for the European Parliament election being held in just over a year as well as strong candidates for local council elections and the next general election.

Dr Zammit Dimech said the party will renew itself if it managed to strike a balance between energy and experience.