The Nationalist Party needs to shed policies and personalities that shamed it in the past for an alternative government coalition to work out, according to the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party (PD).

“The PN needs to start afresh. Had it done that after the last general election, there would have been no reason to create another party. Had the Labour Party stuck to its pre-electoral promises, the PD would have been obsolete.

“The PN first needs to cleanse itself and shed those people who embarrassed it in the past before being able to unite with other opposition parties to present themselves as an alternative government,” Marlene Farrugia said.

Speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta after the party’s first AGM, during which she was chosen as leader, the independent MP, who defected from the Labour Party over differences with its leadership, said her new party was becoming a reality.

During the annual general meeting, held at Dr Farrugia’s Qrendi house, the 25 party members also chose Anthony Busuttil as deputy leader, Karl Camilleri as general secretary, Duncan Bonnici as treasurer and Monique Agius as PRO.

Matthew Montebello, Lorraine Farrugia, Alex Clayman and Carmel Polidano were elected to the executive council.

The new party is becoming a reality

Dr Farrugia confirmed that she had met PN leader Simon Busuttil informally twice since she was first approached, but no commitments could be made, as the party was still without its executive council.

Now that it had been formed, the council will meet in the coming days to discuss the possibility of a coalition.

She insisted, however, that opposition parties should present a united and compact front in order to offer an attractive alternative to the present government.

She said the government had made “a mess” of the energy sector and committed Malta to an 18-year period using gas when all the world was turning to renewables.

Regarding the future, Dr Farrugia said that the party would now identify experts who could help it formulate its short- and long-term policies.

It will also be looking for candidates to field in the next general election.

“I have already been approached by a number of people, and not only from within the party, who have expressed their interest in contesting the next election on our party ticket,” she said.

Asked how she felt about her party already losing two potential members – Salvu Mallia (who joined the PN) and Marco Cremona (who resigned from the PD, citing a lack of direction), Dr Farrugia said the stretch of time between the announcement and the AGM caused people to weigh their level of commitment.

On whether her partner, Labour Whip Godfrey Farrugia, would join her party, Dr Farrugia laughed and replied: “When I spoke to him last, he was still the loyal Whip of the Labour Party. The PD’s doors are open to him too, as they are to anyone who feels the need for change.

“There is no reason why Godfrey should not agree with our policy, because the three pillars of our party – clean and transparent governance, social justice and sustainability of the economy through proper care for the environment – are what the Labour Party was trumpeting before the election, but it discarded them right after obtaining power.”

The Labour Party’s head is referred to as the ‘leader’, the PN refer to the party head as ‘il-kap’, but for Dr Farrugia, it doesn’t make any difference.

“They call me leader and also kap, but it’s just a word. This is not Marlene’s party but a party created to offer a real alternative.”

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