For better or for worse?

Published on the Times of Malta (29 June 2011)

Is it for better or for worse that the Nationalist Party doesn’t sound like a philharmonic orchestra? Following the morning session of the PN general council two Sundays ago made me ask myself what compels the speakers that took the stand to stay in the same party. A common enemy in the 1980s and a common goal in the first decade of this century certainly made the trick but what can keep this mosaic together now? Which is the way forward?


My favourite quote of the day was Joe Friggieri’s: “You cannot open a window and expect the wind not to blow through.” He couldn’t have said it better. In 2003, the PN opened Malta’s doors and windows. Thanks to its efforts, we became part of the European Union. For me, that was the first election in which I put a one on a maduma (PN) candidate even though I tend to be more on the left side of political thinking.

Now, the PN has to realise that it absolutely cannot hold the huge change it itself brought about. However, on that same Sunday morning, the main agent of this change put pen to paper to say that the party should postpone the divorce issue until the coming election. Most probably, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi read his predecessor’s article before making his speech and was brave enough to refute his argumentation instantly.

Still, I cannot understand how the Prime Minister et al can make sure that the will of the people is translated into law while at the same time keeping the option open to vote against that same law. This logic beats me. Some defended this stand by saying that as long as the divorce law is enacted we shouldn’t be after the dissenting MPs’ pound of flesh. But this argument overlooks the fact that, eventually, it will be the electorate who will be after the PN’s pound of flesh, come 2013, if the wrong message is put across. And a Prime Minister voting in Parliament against the will of the people is indeed a wrong message. Doesn’t partnership ring a bell?

I also did not get it when Dr Gonzi said that his party holds close to its heart the Religio et Patria creed. Such statements reinforce the people’s perception that the PN is a confessional party, something that is absolutely untrue. As I see it, it is the PN that has proved itself as the real progressive and liberal party of Malta. Pluralism, liberalisation, democracy and EU membership are all of its making.

It would be kamikaze politics should the PN now opt for a Religio et Patria way of doing politics.

What the people of Malta really and truly want is a clear separation between Church and state and not only in terms of law. We voted for EU membership because we yearn for a European society, secular by nature, which treasures the values of tolerance, minority rights and civil liberties.

I consider the divorce referendum result as a blessing in disguise for the PN. Dr Gonzi accepted the will of the people minutes after the results were known. He will now see that the people’s will is implemented in Parliament. In the process, the nonsense being uttered by those MPs who are staunchly against divorce has to stop. The campaign is over and the people have decided for them. Now, they have to be proactive. Their role is to be on board to draft the best divorce law possible. This should close this chapter once and for all and the PN can look ahead and focus on bread and butter issues that are of more concern to the people.

The PN also needs to come to terms with the fact that our society is changing at a fast pace and, thus, it cannot keep on ignoring pressing issues such as IVF, civil liberties, especially LGBT rights, and cohabitation. These cannot be kept on the back-burner any longer.

The way forward for the PN is crystal clear. The writing is on the wall. With immediate effect, it needs to pull up its socks by taking stock of the situation and make sure it remains relevant in the Malta it created. In the process, no one should be sidelined. The PN has been governing Malta since I was a schoolboy only because more than being a party it is a coalition of different ideas that shares common goals with the people. This has always been the PN’s winning ticket.

With the general council showing openness to an impressive mixture of ideas, there is still hope that, once again, the PN will transform what looks like a demise into an opportunity. The mosaic has been damaged but it’s not beyond repair. More self-inflicted wounds would only result in a haemorrhage and would definitely place Joseph Muscat’s Labour at Castille’s doorstep.

www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110629/opinion/For-better-or-for-worse-.372968