The Nationalist Party needs to urgently undergo an honest process of soul searching. This I said during my TimesTalk interview with the Times of Malta on May 29.
The party needs to fully define and embrace its own purpose of existence.
It must formulate its vision and mission for Malta, and it must also craft a clever and vote-catching strategy that will take it to the next general election. This could be a strategy that may not necessarily aim to win government, since in the current circumstances, “victory” at the next national elective outing in approximately two years’ time may be measured in many ways.
A victory for the Nationalist Party could be declared had it to reduce the gap with the Labour Party to, say, anywhere below the 10,000-voter mark.
Another form of victory could be arguably declared had the party to still lose the general election by an “acceptable” number of votes but, at the same time, manage to somehow strengthen its support in a number of its main constituencies; and all this while coming forward as a unified party with a sincere and achievable manifesto that is full of optimism for the future, and simultaneously boasting a line-up of new, forward-looking candidates from all walks of life.
Whatever the type of victory the Nationalist Party chooses to identify with, one thing is certain. It needs to set realistic objectives, in such a way that will maintain motivation, focus and drive. And it needs to set them now.
The obvious purpose of the PN is to ensure that, in Malta and Gozo, we (all us law-abiding and fun-loving citizens) have access to a vibrant, strong and credible political alternative that will ultimately secure democracy. This must surely be our collective non-negotiable desire.
The threat to the country’s democracy is coming from the Nationalist Party and its refusal (possibly procrastination) to relaunch itself
Many people talk and discuss the probability of the Labour Party widening the voter gap and securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament by the coming election.
People often ask me, and rightfully so too, “how will this threaten our democracy?”
While this is a valid consideration, the question to ask in the current circumstances is “who is currently threatening our democracy?” Is it the Labour Party that keeps on going from strength to strength? Or is it the Nationalist Party that keeps on refusing to put an end to its internal bickering, thereby weakening both their national and partisan support with every passing day?
I firmly believe that the threat to the country’s democracy is coming from the Nationalist Party and its refusal (possibly procrastination) to relaunch itself.
Why has this situation become the natural comfort zone for those at the helm?
The Nationalist Party’s leadership team is wasting valuable time by pretending that all is fine and dandy in its headquarters in Pietà. The team is simply not living up to its very purpose of existence.
I confirmed this during Saturday’s meeting of the executive committee.
The lack of structure, the absence of tolerance and respect, and the huge egos of many of those present, have by far overshadowed reason and hijacked the party.
The hijackers are simply not realising that they have become a serious threat to the country’s democracy. Those in favour of Adrian Delia are the optimists, waiting for some form of magic to happen. Those against him are the pessimists, waiting for his failures to become more dramatic.
And in the interim, there is absolutely no one that is adjusting the sails that will steer the party into the direction of stability, innovation, growth and credibility.
From what I witnessed at last Saturday’s meeting, the party needs a fresh start. And quickly too. It needs a caretaker leader with a mandate to relaunch.
#TimesTalk: 'How many good people are we going to burn?' - Ivan Bartolo
Yes, a relaunch programme built on a number of defining strategies, such as a ‘reinvent’ strategy, a ‘growth’ strategy and an ‘innovation’ strategy.
I’m afraid to say that the current ‘status quo’ and laissez-faire strategy adopted by the Nationalist Party’s leadership team is going nowhere. It’s time to be responsible. It’s time to be reasonable. It’s time to set egos aside. It’s time to place Malta’s well-being ahead of everything else.
In the absence of having its own plan and strategy, the Nationalist Party is risking having to follow someone else’s… could this be the case?
Ivan Bartolo is a former Nationalist Party candidate.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece