The Nationalist Party will tomorrow start the day with a new leader. It’s a moment of unparalleled significance in the history of a political party, marking a clear direction, a new style and a refreshed approach.
Thousands of PN supporters are heading to the polls today in an unprecedented leadership election open to all members. Enthusiasm is running high.
Some 15,000 supporters took the time to collect their voting document in order to be able to decide the party’s future. Despite two successive electoral defeats, our supporters are rearing to get back to work.
Elections are always hard-fought and some supporters will tonight be disappointed. Some might even consider taking a step back and letting others face the hard task ahead.
Yet the winner tonight must be the Nationalist Party. And the mission, as of tomorrow, will be one: turning the PN into a strong and relevant political force fighting for what is right.
I have built my campaign on the need for the party to reconnect.
First of all, we must reconnect with the values this party is based on – honesty, accountability, solidarity and hard work.
We need to reconnect with our supporters and open wide the party’s doors for them to contribute to the project.
We must reconnect with those who have deserted us in recent years and become once again their natural home.
We need to reconnect with our society as a whole by being continuously at its very heart and by being in tune with the aspirations of our families and the realities facing the country today.
Tomorrow will be a new day for the PN.
We will have less than two years to face our first test – the local council and MEP elections in 2019. By then we need to have radically changed the way the party operates
If I am given the privilege of a lifetime to lead the party I will hit the ground running, kick-starting the reforms the party must go through to become the government-in-waiting that this country needs.
We will have less than two years to face our first test – the local council and MEP elections in 2019. By then we need to have radically changed the way the party operates and turned its operations around.
Had I not been confident that the PN has all it takes to rise to the occasion and to once again become the guardian of the values this country needs in politics, I would not have contested this election.
But I know the party well. I was raised in the party. I was there in its moments of glory and in its darkest moments.
I saw what this party can do when it is united and open to all those who love this country. And this is what I pledge to do if elected leader of the PN: ensure that the party truly belongs to those genuine people who believe that Malta deserves better.
I feel humbled to have my name on today’s ballot sheets.
I look back at the history of our party and at how the flame was passed from one visionary leader to another.
After a lifetime of contributions to the party, I am ready to take up the flame and ensure that it goes on to new generations willing to keep moving this country forward.
It’s the love for my country that attracted me to politics. And it’s the respect for what is decent and genuine and the struggle for the common good that always pushed me towards the PN.
Our country needs the Nationalist Party back in full force.
Our people deserve a credible and effective PN, and a clear choice in the next general election – between a party of short-sighted and unethical opportunists and a party that’s on the side of decency and serious politics.
It’s our duty to give this country the opportunity to have a choice.
The biggest milestones in the history of independent Malta all carry the mark of the Nationalist Party. I’m confident that so will the next one.
The road to that milestone starts today.
Chris Said is today contesting the election to become the next PN leader.