A few opinion pieces published in this newspaper recently have hinted towards a divide in the Nationalist Party following the abstention of the Opposition on the Civil Unions Bill. I find all this attempted manipulation not only distasteful but extremely irresponsible and I will venture to explain why.
First of all, let’s see where the Nationalist Party is coming from.
It is a fact that between 2008 and 2013 the Nationalist Party endured stiff internal dissent that was fed irresponsibly to the media on a daily basis in sensationalist doses.
This not only incapacitated the party in government but provided a veritable joyride to the Labour Party in Opposition.
Tough lessons were learnt in March 2013 at the polls and it was widely acknowledged that, together with other reasons, this defeat could be largely attributed to these internal party rifts and the ripple effects they caused.
Just as Labour opted for a unifying vote in favour of the Bill, the PN opted for a unifying vote in abstention
In April 2013 a change in party leadership followed the electoral defeat and Simon Busuttil, flanked by Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario de Marco, set about rebuilding the party and restoring faith and loyalty within it. Has this been easy? Most definitely not!
Busuttil embarked on the massive exercise of picking up the pieces knowing full well that the challenges that lay ahead required him to have the strongest of party structures and a homogeneous parliamentary group.
Laying the foundations for this with limited resources has been a monumental task, but to his credit it has been done.
The next step was to ensure that the functioning of the party structures accelerated in stimulation and activity, providing the crucial backup needed by the parliamentary group to function effectively.
Within a relatively short period the Nationalist Party’s alliance in Parliament not only fortified its position as an effective Opposition but also worked hard to ensure that its benches were not lacking in cooperation, innovation, enthusiasm and energy.
This is evidenced by the number of parliamentary questions put forward by Nationalist MPs, by the unanimous votes taken in favour of the government on a number of decisions (most notably that of the selection of the President) and by, for example the proposal for constitutional changes to eliminate discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, which also had the House’s unanimous support.
In less than a year the PN parliamentary group not only consolidated itself but is serving as a tenacious Opposition worthy of any democratic country.
Which brings me to my second point, and that is the vote on the Civil Unions Bill. Here Labour remains consistent in the way it tries to score brownie points with its flamboyant media messages while attempting to undermine the Nationalists at the same time.
Let’s all be honest here – Labour has 39 seats in Parliament. That’s 39 free-thinking, intelligent minds who all must have their opinion on this Bill; 39 representatives elected by the Maltese people who were duty bound to exercise caution and responsibility when it came to legislating in favour of civil union and adoption of children by gay couples. They cannot all have been in favour of the Bill as it was presented in its entirety and yet they toed the party line and all voted in favour, possibly repressing their reservations or expressing their frustrations internally.
And yet Labour sympathisers have the audacity to accuse the Nationalist Opposition of not being able to reach common ground on the issue and hence the nature of the vote. What a relief to find out that the Nationalist Party still allows its members to express themselves freely.
Yes, there have been heated debates within the party structures regarding this and other issues because that is what politics is all about. Space, time, professional advice and debate have been the order of the day within the PN parliamentary group and yes, concluding viewpoints differed. But this is what makes up our party and we are happy and proud to embrace different opinions.
Ultimately, though, the party had to decide on how to tackle the vote.
Labour must have desperately wished for a free vote to try to expose contrasting votes as fissures within the party. However, just as Labour opted for a unifying vote in favour of the Bill, the PN opted for a unifying vote in abstention.
As explained over and over again by the Leader of the Opposition, the abstention was not a vote against the Civil Unions Bill but in protest against the government’s insistence on twinning this Bill with the right of gay couples to adopt.
Now there was one issue that the whole PN parliamentary group agreed upon and, in contrast to members of the Labour parliamentary group, felt comfortable about expressing themselves on.
Joseph Muscat must be disappointed that his efforts to portray division within the PN ranks have dwindled to a few desperate attempts by his spin doctors.
It is indeed a pity that once again sensitive issues have been shamelessly exploited by Labour.
info@carolinegalea.com
Caroline Galea is a member of the executive committee of the Nationalist Party.