Nationalist leadership contender Simon Busuttil laid out his vision yesterday, saying he was a “centrist” who experienced the European Parliament where it was all about compromise and cooperation.
However, he made it clear that Opposition MPs should not accept Joseph Muscat’s offers to take on executive roles since this would blur the distinction between Government and Opposition.
“We are not in a coalition,” he said, when asked about Dr Muscat’s declared intentions to give appointments to MPs across the divide. His statement was criticised by the Labour Party which said the PN’s negative politics would continue if Dr Busuttil were elected leader. Labour added that Dr Muscat’s intention to appoint Opposition MPs to boards and other public entities was intended to involve everyone in the running of the country. Dr Busuttil presented his plans to the press from a suite at the Radisson Hotel, where he stood casually in front of a dark blue backdrop splashing his slogan: “Once again PN, a people’s party.”
“The most radical thing the PN needs is to become a party that is close to the people. People must be able to identify with us and trust us,” he said, stressing the importance of truth, integrity and giving “relevant” answers to today’s changing society.
He warned it would be a mistake for the party’s councillors to choose someone without experience or roots in the PN – a veiled reference to a potential rival, businessman Raymond Bugeja.
He also said it would be a mistake for people to expect no one in the top echelons of the party to contest the election because of the disappointing result at the polls.
Dr Busuttil conceded that everyone should shoulder responsibility, including himself, but this did not mean anyone should be disqualified from the rebuilding.
He pointed out that if he should be barred from contesting for the PN’s top post because he was deputy leader for the last three months, then the same should apply for anyone in Cabinet or acting as parliamentary assistant.
“When the party needed me, I was there. And I don’t regret it. The result was what it was but now we must look forward,” he said, when asked whether his presence in the electoral campaign had any effect on the result. On the financial issues crippling the party, Dr Busuttil said he would take advice from experts on how to carry out the appropriate restructuring.
However, he also proposed to split the party’s political structures from its commercial ones in a way that the two could be dealt with separately.
The former MEP said he wanted to build a strong and constructive opposition which does not promise everything to everyone but offers solutions to the country’s challenges.
Refuting the claim that the PN is a confessional party, Dr Busuttil said it had paid a political price for its stand against divorce but had already moved on.
It had even gone a step further than Labour on gay rights by proposing in its electoral programme that equality should be enshrined in the Constitution.
“The Labour Party did not even propose this and I hope they change their mind when it comes to the Constitutional revision,” he said.
Dr Busuttil also spoke about the importance of women in party structures and said he hoped women would contest for the various internal elections being held by the party.
He said he wanted to reorganise the party, build a strong team of volunteers from all generations, and appoint an official to keep in touch with civil society, among various other proposals he would be making to the 900 councillors.
Simon Busuttil at the Radisson Hotel yesterday. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi