A detailed sociological study would be commissioned by the Nationalist Party to inform policy decisions if Chris Said is elected leader.
Addressing a press conference this morning, leadership hopeful Dr Said said that in the past the PN had always led the way, earning itself the status of the electorate's natural choice of government.
In recent years, however, it had dismantled the structures which informed its positions and had instead been relegated to reacting to debate rather than leading it.
"The PN went from agent of change to a passive spectator. This needs to change," he told a news conference.
The study, Dr Said said, would be conducted by sociologists, economists, and other experts, and would be based on several areas to look at questions that the party did not currently have answers for.
It would look at issues concerning the family, their aspirations, the types of families that existed and what binds and distinguishes them.
He said he also wanted the study to help the party understand changing methods of communication.
Such a study, he said, would have to be conducted regularly and the findings would be reviewed – not only by a think tank, but also from a bottom-up approach.
What we cannot do, is remain on the fence, or take a decision too late or even worse, fudge those decisions
Asked whether basing party policy on society’s views could also pose a risk that social progress- ‘Wouldn't society have decided to push migrants back during the migrant crisis?’ To this, he stressed, people's dignity would be central to any decision he took. Asked about situations where society was split and both sides and strong moral positions on a matter – such as the recent marriage equality debate – Dr Said said these situations were difficult for any party to deal with.
“What we cannot do, is remain on the fence, or take a decision too late or even worse, fudge those decisions,” he said.
Dr Said was also asked how he would deal with resistance from within the party when it came to deciding on a position on thorny matters. He said a leadership with him at the helm would not take unilateral decisions at times like this. Instead, he wanted to see a debate from the bottom up to try and reach a convergence of opinion. If this could not be done, he would give a free vote.
Finally, Dr Said was also asked by the Labour Party's news arm ONE, whether he would put some distance between the party and contentious blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia. He said she would be respected like all independent journalists should be, and a distance would be maintained like it does with all other journalists.
“Naturally if there is an issue that we need to pick up [after she has raised it] then we will do so,” he said.