The last week has been very fruitful for the Nationalist Party. Over the four days of the Independence festivities at the Granaries in Floriana, we witnessed the coming together of people from all backgrounds, both party veterans and young volunteers.
It was a privilege to sit side by side people who fought for Malta’s Independence, for our freedom and democracy, for EU membership and for many other achievements that today we take for granted as part of our daily lives.
It was also very heartening to see so many people from all walks of life coming together once again to respond to the call of the party. And in turn, I could see that they were delighted to see their party once again brimming with energy and confidence.
The message that came out from the Granaries is loud and clear: the PN is back in business, having completed a renewal and restructuring process and having also gone through a thorough soul-searching exercise. We are not expecting any favours. We know that regaining trust will require sheer hard work. We are determined to do what it takes.
Most of all, it was important to discuss what I believe is the soul of any political party: developing vision and sound policies.
In my view, the Nationalist Party has always been at its best when it was guided by a clear vision or direction for our country.
Politicians come and go, but vision leaves a lasting impact on our lives.
Independence, democracy, EU membership, the euro have all changed our lives fundamentally. But they did not come out of thin air. They were the result of a vision and of a sense of direction.
It is precisely this vision and sense of direction that are so lacking six months after the change in Government.
We were promised a change of direction and we got it. Just that we do not know in which new direction we are heading.
Instead we have a Government that is hostage to its electoral promises and to the political obligations that it got itself into before March.
Now, reality is starting to catch up with it.
The first to go was the Government’s moral compass. It was elected on a ticket of meritocracy, transparency and political accountability. But instead, we have a Government that is powerless to act in the face of exceedingly poor standards of behaviour.
One minister falsely declared that he earned less than the minimum wage last year and he got away with it. Another got his wife a plum job with the Government and lo and behold, it’s OK for the Prime Minister.
And yet another was forced to declare that he will not sack a person from a public board even after he was convicted of a crime just last week.
The meritocracy charade itself has now reached dangerous proportions. It is one thing putting trusted people here and there.
But it is quite another thing orchestrating a political takeover of a public institution that thrives on public trust, such as the Armed Forces.
After having placed a party loyalist in the sensitive role of Police Commissioner they are now trying to hound out the Commander of our Armed Forces whose qualifications, competence and integrity are beyond doubt.
If this Government really wants the army to retain public trust then it should keep its hands off the Commander.
To think that just last Saturday the Archbishop suggested the appointment of a junior minister for strengthening the ‘moral fibre’ in society.
We have a Government that is powerless to act in the face of exceedingly poor standards of behaviour
The thing is that we already have 23 ministers and a good number of them are busy undermining the very moral fibre that the Archbishop wants to see strengthened.
In Opposition we will be sure to denounce these shortcomings.
All the while, however, we will be constructive in standing for a clear direction and for substantive policies, be it on the economy, on jobs, on education, on healthcare.
In this vein, this Saturday, the Nationalist Party will be holding the first in a series of policy seminars with the aim of engaging with key players and stakeholders in specific policy areas and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of our policy platforms.
On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, the first policy seminar will delve into the tourism sector. And although this is an area which we pushed to record levels over the past five years, we still believe that we can do better, stay one step ahead and come up with innovative ideas.
We will be clear on what we stand for. It is clarity and serious ideas – it is substance – that will set us apart from the Labour Government.
* * *
Let me take this opportunity to bid farewell to the regular readers of this column.
As Parliament reconvenes after summer recess, my commitments as Leader of the Opposition now require me to take a step back.
But I will remain a frequent contributor. That is a promise.
Simon Busuttil is the Leader of the Opposition.