It was the ‘boys’ that separated themselves from the ‘men’ in the unfolding drama within the Nationalist Party over the past few days.
Mark Anthony Sammut set the ball rolling when, in contrast with so many his senior – both in years and political clout – who failed miserably to walk the talk, he stood up to be counted and stepped down from his post of executive committee president, assuming responsibility for the PN’s miserable showing at the European and local council elections. He pointed out he did so notwithstanding the fact he had no say in the strategy adopted or the electoral campaign.
So far, Mr Sammut remains the only senior PN official to take such concrete action. The resignation of party treasurer David Camilleri had nothing to do with the electoral defeat but was about voting rights when deciding who to co-opt in Parliament to fill the seat vacated by David Stellini who decided to resume his old job in Brussels. At least, that is what Mr Camilleri declared.
PN leader Adrian Delia refuses to budge and insists he has no intention of either stepping down or calling for a vote of confidence. True, he has only been in office for under two years and was elected democratically by paid party members. However, the latest electoral results clearly show he made no inroads whatsoever.
Dr Delia is evidently resolute in staying put until at least the next general election. Still, the party he leads does not belong to him and neither does it consist of only him. But where are the others?
Why was it only the president of the executive committee who came forward and spoke his mind? Are the administrative council, the parliamentary group, the district fora and the sectional committees happy with the prevailing situation? And what about the various movements, associations and colleges within the party?
The party’s youth section, MŻPN, is insisting that “political responsibility be shouldered by all those who are refusing to view the clear electoral result as a damning one”.
The PN’s pensioners’ association wants all to realise the reality of the latest defeat and to make all necessary decisions, however tough they might be, in the best interest of the party rather than that of a personal agenda.
Apart from the leadership itself, which has decided to keep its head firmly buried in the sand, the biggest responsibility lies on the parliamentary group. They enjoy the support of thousands of voters, the big bulk of whom would be PN sympathisers. If Dr Delia was given a mandate by just under 8,000 paid members to lead the party, the 136,000 people who voted for PN candidates in the 2017 general election expect their elected representatives to stand firm in protecting the party from both the enemy without and the one within.
As a first step, the parliamentary group should demand that a meeting is held urgently. One would expect three main items on the agenda: the latest electoral result, a vote of confidence in the leader of the Opposition and the co-option of an MP to fill the seat vacated by Mr Stellini.
That this has not been done already can only indicate weakness on the part of the parliamentary group. The deafening silence by most Nationalist MPs makes such weakness chilling.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial
Correction June 7: This leader attributed to the MŻPN the statement that “political responsibility should be shouldered by all those who are refusing to view the clear electoral result as a damning one”. In fact, that was stated by the Nationalist Party’s Forum for Professionals.
The MŻPN said, among other things, that “The current situation is untenable, and represents a new low”.
The error is regretted.