Simon Busuttil took over the helm in what is one of the most challenging periods in the Nationalist Party’s recent history. The party emerged from the 2013 general election flat on its back. It got another hammering at the European elections.
The PN cannot avoid any areas or take half-baked measures if it wants to re-invent itself and become, once again, the peoples’ party.
This is what the new PN leader is trying to do and he has mountains to climb. His is a mammoth task. One thing is certain, Busuttil cannot accomplish this task single-handedly; he needs all hands on deck. Now is the time for people who want to see a stronger PN to pull up their socks and help.
The PN is at the crossroads, again. Steering it in the right direction depends on each and every one of us who believe that, despite its shortcomings, the party has always had the right vision and policies for this country.
It is with this in mind, that when the PN leader suggested that I be among the first batch of general election candidates I accepted, enthusiastically. Watching, from the sidelines, Busuttil rebuilding the PN is for me no longer an option. I want to contribute my ideas and my energy to the party and bring to the table the peoples’ challenges, ideas and aspirations.
Mine is a peoples’ agenda, which complements Busuttil’s main agenda: making the PN, once again, the peoples’ party.
I often thought that the PN cannot be indifferent to the plight of the young couple who are working day and night to pay off debts incurred on their first residence.
The PN cannot be immune to the hardships faced by that elderly couple who can barely survive on its pension and it cannot turn a blind eye to the self-employed person who, due to excessive bureaucracy, is unable to make ends meet.
It definitely cannot turn a blind eye to the hardships experienced by people who have lost their jobs.
The PN is right in criticising the government for its many shortcomings but it needs to come up with proposals and solutions to the problems. It needs to focus on the bigger picture but it must get the ‘smaller’ picture right as peoples’ needs and everyday challenges have to be addressed too.
Successive PN administrations have often been criticised of focusing, solely, on the bigger picture. Of course, in doing so it got the economy right but peoples’ needs were not always seen to effectively.
Mine is a peoples’ agenda, which complements Simon Busuttil’s main agenda: making the PN the peoples’ party again
The PN paid dearly for this approach, which it cannot afford to repeat.
Neither can the PN afford to be out of synch with a fast-changing society but not at the cost of sacrificing its values, which revolve around the person and his well-being.
The party has to come up with clear-cut policies on social and economic issues for a fairer society. Only by doing so can it show that it is a better alternative than the present administration. The 10 policy fora launched recently by the PN leader will serve this purpose.
As a new general election candidate, I shall waste no time to help change the fate of the PN. My drive, energy, ample experience within the PN’s structures and on a local grassroots level but also within civil society, provides me, I believe, with the necessary ingredients to help change the party for the better.
I am determined to help the PN regenerate itself and make it electable again.
I am determined to repay the trust Busuttil has shown in me by campaigning to make a difference across my constituency. This requires hard work and a lot of persuasion.
As a new general election candidate on the sixth electoral district, I am determined to help make peoples’ live better because people matter.
alessiapsailazammit@gmail.com
Alessia Psaila Zammit, a lawyer and journalist, is a new PN general election candidate.