Keith Micallef asked three political observers about the Nationalist Party’s leadership election and what the PN must do to get back into office.

‘Common cause crucial to regaining lost ground’

Having three out of four candidates from outside the parliamentary group is a first for Maltese politics, former Nationalist Cabinet minister Michael Falzon points out.

One of them, Adrian Delia, is a complete outsider, having never militated within the PN ranks.

“This reflects the general sentiment within the PN grass roots about the need for a fresh start and could be the reason why complete outsiders are having a shot at the leadership, thinking they might fit the bill. On the other hand, those already involved in the party have a better understanding of what lies in store,” Mr Falzon says.

Michael FalzonMichael Falzon

Mr Falzon believes that the new leader must have a broad appeal to the various sections of the electorate and the biggest challenge is to find a common cause which unites them.

“In the past, it was the EU membership bid or the leader’s personality itself. Though nowadays this task seems to have become harder, it is still possible.

“At one stage, people will get tired of the Labour Party, and the situation will turn full circle, which is what happens in politics after all.”

The former minister points out that public perception will be crucial for the new PN leader, saying he has to be viewed as somebody whom the electorate can trust to improve their standard of living.

“This was the greatest shortfall of outgoing PN leader Simon Busuttil. He campaigned against corruption and in favour of good governance, but ultimately people thought that electing a PN government was like a leap in the dark. Voters were not willing to change tack just for the sake of honest politics.”

On an ideological level, Mr Falzon says the PN has to evolve according to circumstances. “Let’s not forget that Labour’s pro-business stance at one stage landed the leadership in hot water when a number of left-wing academics wrote a scathing letter to Joseph Muscat. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, it seems that they had no other option but to retain their support for Labour.

“Each political party has its own tolerance level in terms of key policy shifts, and the challenge is to tread carefully without risking any backlash with the grass roots.”

‘Non-MP candidates reflect desire for clean break’

Under the Maltese model, a scenario in which three out of four candidates are non-MPs is “abnormal”, albeit in line with the party’s statute, former PN deputy leader Tonio Borg points out.

Consequently, there is the real possibility of electing a leader from outside the parliamentary group. Such a scenario will always pose a conundrum.

Tonio BorgTonio Borg

“In that case, the easiest route to Parliament for someone who did not contest the general election is taking the seat vacated by an MP who got elected through a casual election. In that case, it is up to the executive committee to nominate someone for co-option.”

However, if such an option were discarded in favour of having any other MP relinquish his or her seat, the issue could get complicated. In that case, the casual election mechanism would be triggered automatically.

“Consequently, the party would have to ‘persuade’ eligible candidates not to contest the casual election, as co-option would only be possible if nobody came forward to submit their nomination.”

Nonetheless, there is no legal obligation for the candidates to refrain from submitting their nomination, he points out.

“This scenario probably reflects a desire for a clean break with the past among the PN grass roots. Furthermore, this seems to be the trend, as even in the 2008 Labour leadership race, two of five contestants were not MPs, one of whom was the winner.”

Dr Borg says that the PN must be given credit for taking the plunge to widen the leadership race to the party members, who number over 21,000. 

“This is something extremely positive but at the same uncharted territory for Maltese politics.”

Dr Borg feels that anybody aspiring to the leadership must be able to bring together the various currents within the party.

“This applies to all parties, including Labour. My assessment of Helena Dalli’s failure to win the deputy leadership race is that her policies were rejected by conservative delegates.”

Commenting on the way forward, he observes that this second legislature is most likely to present much tougher challenges for Labour, as has been the case in Maltese politics for the last 50 years when the party in government lost support after being re-elected. In this term, Labour will have to take decisions on hot issues and will make a number of mistakes, while a certain level of arrogance might start raising its head in the government ranks, he says.

“The Opposition’s role is to capitalise on all this while outlining its alternative vision and proposals.” 

‘Parliament experience an asset but not a must’

Joseph PirottaJoseph Pirotta

Historian Joseph Pirotta believes that parliamentary experience is an asset for somebody who aspires to become party leader but not necessarily a prerequisite. Nevertheless, the leap from being an MP to becoming the party leader warrants stepping up one’s efforts in the party’s and country’s interests.

Prof. Pirotta points out that recent political experience shows that there have been candidates who rose to the challenge, even though they had no experience in the Maltese Parliament.

“Aside from experience as MEPs – and the European Parliament does not function in the same way as our national Parliament does – both Simon Busuttil and Joseph Muscat were not MPs. It is probably more difficult for someone lacking such experience to succeed, but it is not impossible,” he says.

From a purely ideological perspective, Prof. Pirotta believes that in this day and age, left and right do not have the same resonance they formerly had, as society and the way the economy functions have changed greatly.

“It is more important that a party’s right and left factions coalesce towards the centre. Today a party that aspires to govern has to devise policies that contribute to economic growth and the equitable distribution of the resultant wealth. It must be able to deliver good governance, justice for all and help people fulfil their aspirations.”

While noting that the PN has rightly been underlining these values, the historian points out that it all boils down to how such a message is conveyed.

“Overemphasis on mere ideology no longer makes sense, if it ever did,” he remarks. As for the right qualities for the PN to be back in business by the next general election, Prof. Pirotta argues no large party is made up of a membership homogeneous in thought and political and social vision.

“This complicated reality becomes more delicate to handle if the party, as has been the case with the PN, loses two successive elections, more so if the defeats were by a very wide margin. That hurts. Fingers of blame are pointed, often unfairly.”

He believes that a new leader must be able to unite the party and achieve consensus on basic principles. Moreover, he must be able to retain what works and discard what doesn’t. The next step is to guide the party into developing those principles into effective policies that enthuse the majority of the electorate into identifying with them. “To achieve this, a leader requires, above all else, charisma and excellent communication skills.”

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