A group of “disillusioned” Nationalist Party MPs are seriously considering calling it a day from politics by not contesting the next general election, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
Sources told this newspaper that this sentiment was especially palpable following last Wednesday when six PN MPs did not turn up in Parliament to vote on a motion tabled by their own party. The motion concerned a Legal Notice granting 100 hours of leave to couples undergoing IVF treatment.
In a statement former leader Simon Busuttil and his former deputy Mario de Marco as well as MPs Therese Comodini Cachia, Karl Gouder, Karol Aquilina and Chris Said justified their move, saying they not been granted a free vote.
Nonetheless, their move triggered a fierce backlash from a section of the party’s grassroots, both on the social media and on various phone-in programmes on the party’s radio station.
Though the PN had insisted that its motion was meant to attack certain legal terms which were not in line with the overriding legislation regulating embryo protection, the move was criticised by some as discriminating against same-sex couples.
The party should have been more careful on which battles to pick in the first place, as ultimately the move backfired
Consequently, the motion reopened the PN’s divisions on moral and ethical issues which had been fully exposed last July when PN MP Edwin Vassallo defied the party line and voted against the introduction of gay marriage.
Sources who spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta pointed out that last Wednesday’s embarrassment could have been avoided, as the dissenting MPs had requested a free vote weeks ago. However, the matter was left pending till the very last minute.
“The party should have been more careful on which battles to pick in the first place, as ultimately the move backfired,” they said.
Meanwhile, the new leadership is also facing internal criticism of being unable to give a strong direction even on minor issues like the decision to extend hunting hours at the Park tal-Majjistral.
The matter was on the agenda of the last PN parliamentary group meeting in which a proposal was floated to object to this extension.
“Those in favour argued that such a move could score points with environmentalists, once it is clear that there is no way back to restore the support of the hunting lobby,” sources said.
However, Thursday’s announcement that the Democratic Party had tabled a parliamentary motion against the Legal Notice extending hunting and trapping hours at this park left a bitter taste.
“This would have been a good opportunity to take leadership on this issue, but unfortunately we lost this opportunity due to the party’s procrastination to take a stand,” sources within the parliamentary group said.
While acknowledging that the new party leadership must be given time to find its feet, especially due to the fact that Adrian Delia is a complete newcomer to politics, there are at least five MPs who are becoming increasingly “disillusioned” with the situation.
“Their level of disenchantment has reached a level whereby they are looking forward for the end of this legislature to bow out of politics,” the sources said.