The Nationalist Party needs to take some time to reflect before moving on, according to opinion leaders and party heavyweights who spoke to The Times yesterday.
There are many reasons including lack of communication with the electorate, arrogance- Zammit Dimech
The leadership contest is not the be-all-and-end-all of the future PN but it must also be accompanied by a thorough analysis of what led to the biggest defeat in the PN’s history.
Former PN minister Michael Falzon, an outspoken critic of the last Gonzi administration, had no qualms in saying that he had already warned the PN of what it was facing.
“Unfortunately, I was seeing all this happening although not to this extent,” he said.
“The writing was on the wall and the PN didn’t manage to learn the lessons from the results of the 2008 election and more so following the MEP elections. This led to the disaster at last Saturday’s polls.”
For Francis Zammit Dimech, one of the longest serving Nationalist MPs who is seen as a moderate in the PN, the defeat had been long in coming.
“The reasons were many but we need to conduct a deep analysis before rushing to elect a new leader,” he said.
Among the reasons he listed were lack of communication with the electorate, arrogance and the natural desire for change. “However, now it’s time to reflect and start rebuilding again. We need to reach out and re-invent the PN.”
According to Joe Friggieri, a former PN electoral candidate and philosophy professor, the PN should not “keep repeating the mantra that it lost the election because it did not look after its own supporters”.
“A party or government that thinks that way is not being fair to those who never expected any special favours from its elected representatives. Governments are there to promote the common good, not to keep party supporters happy or to satisfy the interests of this or that section of the population,” he said.
The PN should realise that lifestyles and values have changed and rewrite its agenda where necessary, he added.
The kind of jargon “borrowed from religion” simply would not wash, especially with the young.
While media speculation about the PN leadership contest has already started, many agree that it is just too early.
“I really think that we first need to let the dust settle,” Mr Falzon said.
“The party must invest in a new generation of young politicians who consider Malta as a normal European country. However there is no real rush to do this as we need to first digest what happened and come to terms with the new reality.”
Dr Zammit Dimech said: “Although the leadership definitely needs to change we have to be clear about what we are talking about. Is it just the leader, the secretary general and the deputy leader who entered the game when things were already decided?” he asked.
“What about ministers or MPs who have been there for the past five years... are they also accountable?” he pondered, adding that a good analysis would be the only way to reach to some conclusions.
Prof Friggieri agreed there is no real hurry for the PN but identifies one of the main traits that Lawrence Gonzi’s successor should have: “The new PN leader should be willing to listen to the critical voices that come from outside the party and widen the circle of those who can come up with new ideas for its regeneration.”