The reasons for Labour's defeat are listed in the analysis report which was published recently and not in the speech delivered by the outgoing Opposition Leader Alfred Sant in his recent address in Parliament, PN deputy leader Tonio Borg said yesterday.
Addressing the party's general council, Dr Borg criticised Dr Sant for trying to blame his party's defeat on everyone except himself.
He underscored a series of issues that were highlighted in the report, from rival cliques to disorganisation and sabotage, saying that was why Labour lost and not because the government had the power of incumbency as Dr Sant had alleged.
"With that type of reasoning, every government would stay in power forever," he said, reminding the audience of the many jobs distributed by Labour when in office before the 1987 election. Then, Dr Sant was party president.
Turning to his own party, Dr Borg said that even the PN had lessons to learn from the election result, stressing that a detailed analysis should be made in the coming months.
The party was at a juncture where it had to allow new faces to take over leading roles, accompanied by the more experienced officials in the party.
He likened the situation to 1987, shortly after the party won that election, and when a number of young members - including himself - found their way in the party's structures because a number of posts were vacated as a result of a clause which said that no party official, except for the Prime Minister and his deputy, could hold ministerial posts.
The party needs to renew its policies and its vision constantly, he said, echoing the speech delivered by the general secretary Joe Saliba before him, but this does not mean doing away with what is at the heartof the party.
"As someone has already said, we change the method but not the principles... if we change the principles, especially the Christian Democratic principles in the statute, we would be changing the party's DNA," he said. Yesterday, the following 13 members were elected to form part of the PN's executive committee: Jean Pierre Debono, Henri Darmanin, Paula Mifsud Bonnici, Peter Darmanin, Paul Borg Olivier, Pierre Portelli, James Cauchi, Malcolm Mifsud, Marthese Portelli, Trevor De Giorgio, Karol Aquilina, Caroline Galea and Janice Chetcuti.
The new secretary general will be elected at the end of next month when the party's new executive will meet.
The council ends tomorrow.