In his quest to make the party electable, PN leader Simon Busuttil must not give in to populism but must be bold enough to take a clear stand on difficult issues, according to observers from both liberal and conservative camps.

Their views were expressed in the wake of the first PN General Convention aimed at reaching out not only to the party’s grassroots but also to sectors of society that may have felt marginalised by the party in recent years, especially after its stand against divorce and its unclear one over civil unions.

Among the more notable ideas to be aired at the convention was to hold a “non-political” debate on controversial issues such as abortion and euthanasia.

The party must not put aside bread and butter issues in its quest to lure back liberal voters

The thinking is to enable an informed decision, rather than the party taking a hasty one as it did during the divorce debate of 2011.

Liberal factions in the party welcomed the idea but eyebrows were raised by those who interpreted such a move as an overreaction to criticism that the party had been hijacked by conservative elements.

Some question whether the party is bending over backwards and taking the populist route to convey a more progressive image.

“Appeasing everybody won’t work in the long run. Labour’s victory at the polls on the bounce of its energy pledges exposed the fact that it had no plans or roadmap ready,” Michael Briguglio, the former chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green party, told Times of Malta.

The biggest challenge for the PN, he said, is to take a clear stand on issues like poverty, pensions and the environment, and it must refrain from the temptation of keeping its cards close to its chest until it is in government.

Dr Briguglio, who was invited to address the convention, welcomed the idea of debating controversial issues like abortion and euthanasia as this could help it gain a broader perspective and strengthen its convictions.

“However, the party must not put aside bread and butter issues in its quest to lure back liberal voters,” he warned.

His views were echoed by the outspoken former PN MP Edwin Vassallo, who has never shied away from expressing his conservative views.

“Dr Busuttil must not fall to the temptation of being populist,” he said. “I look forward to start debating controversial issues so as to avoid a situation in which the parliamentary group would be asked to decide with haste.”

Mr Vassallo compared the renewal process being piloted by Dr Busuttil to the overhaul carried out by Eddie Fenech Adami soon after his election as leader in 1977.

Columnist Martin Scicluna also welcomed Dr Busuttil’s pledge to make a clean break with the party’s past.

“I suspect he was referring to the immediate past, which saw a party disunited, jaded, out of touch, swimming against the social current (divorce and same-sex unions) and presiding over a dysfunctional and corrupt Enemalta,” Mr Scicluna said.

The convention may have also sent the first signal of a strong Opposition leader emerging from the rubble of the March 2013 landslide defeat, he noted.

Dr Busuttil’s appeal to embrace the gay community and migrants could signify his resolve to face the old conservative core of his party, as it risked remaining in Opposition for the next decade, he said.

But Mr Scicluna questioned the idea of debating abortion and euthanasia, in the absence of any calls for their introduction in Malta. He also noted that divorce and same-sex unions were the result of “long-felt social needs” and not of hasty decisions, as some had argued.

Former Nationalist minister Michael Falzon said the party could not expect to win an election by simply pouncing on each and every government mishap, but had to project itself as a strong political force.

“The party is now opening itself up to those whom it had until recently shunned and this is surely positive,” he said. The poor performance of the party in the MEP election could have spurred Dr Busuttil to accelerate internal reforms and show his mettle.

On abortion and euthanasia, he said that even if this would not lead to any change in position, a frank discussion would be healthy for the party.