The newly-elected Nationalist Party leader must “hit the ground running” as the first 100 days will be crucial in addressing the party’s urgent needs, leadership contestant Mario de Marco said.
Above all we must be a strong, credible and serious Opposition
First on the priority list he puts the need to address the PN’s financial situation. Times of Malta has reported how, for the last two months, PN employees have not been paid on time because the party is struggling with cash flow.
Dr de Marco yesterday spoke about separating the commercial and political aspects of the party and setting up an expert team to tackle the financial issues following consultation with employees.
He was speaking during a press conference organised to run through the outcome of his leadership campaign.
The four-man leadership race could come to an end tomorrow when councillors cast their vote. The other three contestants are: Simon Busuttil, Francis Zammit Dimech and Ray Bugeja.
Yesterday, Dr de Marco said the leadership contest had already started to reflect a growing “sense of unity” within the party since all four contestants carried out “clean” campaigns based on mutual respect.
Dr de Marco said that whoever was elected would have to be a leader who unified the party.
“Over the past five years the PN paid a price for its lack of unity,” he said as he called on PN councillors to trust that they would pick the right man for the job.
He said he believed that all four contestants had a lot to offer.
Whoever was elected had to work hard to tackle urgent needs.
“Above all we must be a strong, credible and serious Opposition that holds the PL Government accountable to delivering on its electoral promises and ensures it is truly acting in the national interest and not just in the interest of a few,” he said.
It was important to ensure that, within the party, there was room for creativity in coming up with relevant policies that reflected the population’s needs and diversity.
The party’s media companies also had to be creative and use the fact that the PN was in opposition to tap into new audiences.
“I would like to see a change in how we think, do and talk about politics,” he said.
Dr de Marco stressed the need to strengthen the party structures and give more weight to councillors and their roles. Many councillors he spoke to during this campaign, he said, felt that the party operated in a manner that was “too centralised” and they were not listened to enough.
“I believe in the decentralisation of politics,” he said.
Dr de Marco said that within a year the party would be facing the MEP elections and should not “rest on its laurels” and assume people would vote PN because it had steered Malta towards EU accession.
MEP candidates and the themes used in the MEP campaign should be identified as soon as possible, he said.