The result of the election has left many of us in the Nationalist Party in deep shock. And it is right and proper to examine the reasons and to heal the wounds.

This race must produce a leadership team rather than just a leader

But there comes a point when one must move on.

The PN now has an opportunity to regenerate itself, to regroup and to rebuild in order to be able to regain the people’s trust. The leadership election in two weeks’ time gives us this opportunity.

There are four contestants and it is to the party’s credit that it can attract valid contenders to vie for the top spot. It will be a tough race. But whichever one of us wins, it will be the party that will win most because the new leader will emerge with considerable legitimacy.

As one of the contenders, I believe that this race must achieve three essential goals. First, it must produce a leadership team rather than just a leader.

This means that whoever wins must invite the other contenders to play an active role in the rebuilding process. The leadership must comprise the party’s deputy leader and secretary general along with the parliamentary group in a joint effort that creates unity, synergy and motivation.

And leaders are not the be-all-and-end-all. Nor are they there forever. The people’s yearning for change last month has demonstrated that they expect members of the executive to have a defined time span at the service of the nation – two mandates in government, it seems, are more than enough and change must follow. This is perfectly normal in a healthy democracy and we would be wise to heed this message.

Secondly, it must usher a new era for the party. The party needs to be revitalised, with its party structures and organs reorganised to ensure they truly reflect the needs of a modern party that needs to operate effectively in an ever-changing society.

The party structures must also be truly representative of the people at national and local level and reflect different segments of civil society. It is only in this way that the party will be able to reach out effectively to people from all sectors and strata of society.

And we cannot wait for people to come us. It is for us to go to them and demonstrate that we are truly close to them. Nor is it just about hearing people. It is about listening. It is about connecting, not disconnecting. It is about being proactive, not reactive.

Thirdly, the party must be inclusive both for its members as well as for non-members. And inclusion must permeate all party structures.

This means the party needs to shake off the long-held image, whether real or perceived, that it is run by a small group of people on an exclusive basis. Much as this image may be denied, there is no doubt that it is a perceived reality.

So it is a perception that must be reversed. Thus, the new leadership must make sure there is no place for cliques or exclusivity. Rather, there must be place for everyone. No supremacy of one person or one group over the other. Nor should anyone fear being left out simply for having backed a different contender. It is a right, not a sin, to do so.

Inclusion applies not just to party members but also to non-members, including sectors within society that have, to date, been marginal or marginalised. No party is big enough to afford to leave them out.

A ‘Dignity First’ policy must therefore apply across the board in the party – in its structures, its message, its image, its political discourse and its policy proposals. We must be there to defend the views, beliefs, choices, aspirations, weaknesses, fears and intelligence of each and every individual, and their interests must truly lie at the very heart of our political action.

There is a sea change awaiting the Nationalist Party, and it is nothing short of a sea change that will return it to its former glory.

It is a change that will produce a new generation of leaders and a newly restructured party. It is a change that will return the party to the people and reflect more closely their aspirations. It is a change that we must undertake if we want to regain people’s trust.

We owe this to the people who still believe in us.

We owe it to our predecessors who worked unstintingly for our benefit.

We owe it to our party and we owe it to our country.

It is time to move on.

Simon Busuttil is the deputy leader of the Nationalist Party.

Mark Anthony Falzon’s column is not appearing this week.