PN leader Simon Busuttil yesterday apologised to everyone who was left hurt or disappointed by the previous government.
I am not here to be something. I am here to do something
“We cannot say the people who did not vote for us were mistaken... 36,000 people cannot be wrong. That was the result and we must accept it with humility,” he said, concluding the PN general council.
Dressed down in a white shirt and a lilac tie, the former MEP attempted to encapsulate the tone of the council by acknowledging the PN’s failures while being confident of the party’s future.
He said he would begin house visits this week and hoped other MPs, candidates and local councillors would do the same.
In one month as leader, Dr Busuttil has appointed a commission to suggest changes to PN’s statute, a commission to tackle party finances and a commission to understand the electoral result.
He said he would now set up a commission to select candidates for the MEP elections and another commission to study Maltese society and suggest policy responses.
The PN would also set up a forum for candidates and past candidates to remain close to the party, while carrying on with civil society meetings being organised by MP Claudette Buttigieg.
“Our aim is that by Independence Day, we would have laid all the foundations,” he said.
The PN Opposition must be constructive – which is why it would vote in favour of all seven Bills proposed by the incoming Government so far. However, it must also scrutinise the Government and make sure it abides by its promises.
“The honeymoon is over,” he said.
Closing his speech, he stressed that he did not want to be glorified like previous leaders.
“I am not here to be something. I am here to do something. And I want to do this with a team,” he said as he called newly elected officials Beppe Fenech Adami, Mario de Marco, Chris Said, Ann Fenech and others to the podium.
“This is TeamPN,” he said to jubilant applause.
The PN must apologise to Joanne Cassar, says de Marco
The Nationalist Party should apologise to Joanne Cassar, the woman who was prevented from marrying because she underwent gender reassignment surgery, according to Mario de Marco.
PN’s deputy leader for parliamentary affairs also acknowledged that after 25 years of Nationalist administrations, groups of people like the shareholders of the National Bank of Malta were still awaiting justice. “We were not sensitive, reactionary or proactive when it came to civil liberties that evolved over time,” he told the PN’s general council where he urged the party not to fear change.
He said the PN should learn from the mistakes of previous administrations while still being proud of its history.
In a context where all politicians discarded ideology in favour of Tony Blair’s third way, the PN had to find different ways of distinguishing itself and defining what it means to be Nationalist.