Another challenge, another opportunity

In the late 1950’s, a young journalist asked British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan what he considered was most likely to push his government off course. The answer has gone down in history as one of the greatest quotes of all time. Macmillan replied, “Events, my dear boy, events.”

Events dictated that earlier this month I decided not to seek another term as PN Secretary General, and instead focus my attention elsewhere – Gozo, my constituency. 

Two years ago, I was appointed PN Secretary General straight after a crushing defeat at the polls. It was a tall order. Morale within the party and among Nationalist Party supporters was at an all time low. Labour had won with a historic landslide victory. Our finances were in a mess. Our commercial companies were bleeding and our media needed an immediate revamp. For us at the Nationalist Party it was really and truly the case of change or be damned. We had no choice but to take drastic decisions to rebuild the party if we were to stand a chance of being, first and foremost, a strong Opposition party – a must in a working democracy. 

In his first weeks in office, with a Nationalist Party flat on its back, the Prime Minister attempted many times to ride roughshod over the Opposition. The PN was in tatters. Many were expecting us, and rightly so, to stand up and be counted – to be forceful and assertive.  Our intentions were to do precisely that, but intentions alone are not enough – they need to be coupled by action. 

I myself, together with the rest of the leadership team under the new leadership of Simon Busuttil, set out to do what many thought was an impossible task – rebuild the Nationalist Party and make it, in the shortest time possible, a strong opposition party and eventually a sensible alternative to the current government. Internally we started to set up policy foras in order to reach out to people who wanted to contribute through their ideas and expertise. The financial problem – a herculean task if there ever was one, needed to be addressed and I, together with my team, started to deal with the situation by taking what I must admit were among the most difficult decisions of my political career. I had many a sleepless night, especially when we had no choice but to downsize our workforce at the Dar Centrali. 

The first electoral test, the MEP elections, came too soon, and although we managed to elect, for the first time, the third seat to the EU Parliament, the result was far from satisfactory. We doubled our efforts and in time more people started to come forward to help the party rebuild itself. We geared up for the local council elections knowing that another failure at the polls would seriously jeopardise the work we had, painstakingly, done in the first two years in opposition. The results were very encouraging as the PN managed to halve the gap with Labour after barely two years since the 2013 general election. The PN made important and significant inroads in the south of Malta – what is, traditionally, Malta’s ‘red belt’. The MaltaToday survey, published last Sunday, continues to prove that hard work is paying off. I feel privileged that as Secretary General I’ve given my share to lay the foundations for a stronger Nationalist Party. We’ve come a long way indeed. 

Unfortunately, in Gozo the Nationalist Party fared badly, again. Immediate action was required. Two PN incumbents – Giovanna Debono and Frederick Azzopardi – had already declared their intention not to run for office again. My constituency was crying out for attention from the Nationalist Party – we had to pull up our socks in order to rebuild the PN in Gozo, once a PN stronghold, again. Time was running out. Party Leader Simon Busuttil suggested that I should now focus my time and energy within my constituency. However, given that the role of Secretary General requires undivided attention, I felt that I couldn’t do both successfully. 

After two years at the helm – having given my fair share in rebuilding the Nationalist Party again, having stopped the financial haemorrhage of our commercial companies and helped to rebuild trust in our media, I thought that the responsible way forward was to give Gozo my undivided attention. The rest is history. 

Rosette Thake is now the new PN Secretary General and I have no doubt that she will do a fine job. Rosette has the necessary experience and the right people’s skills to help the PN transform itself into a better alternative to Labour. Rosette has my full support. 

Now that my ‘handover’ period is over, I’ve focused my time and energy to Gozo. It is another challenge, a tough one I must admit, but I was never one to shy away from challenges. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Muscat administration is bereft of a roadmap not only for Malta but, I would say especially, for Gozo. Gozitans were promised a new way of doing politics and above all jobs and more jobs in Gozo. Today, Gozitans are lumped with an inefficient administration headed by a minister who in less than 24 months has been embroiled in countless controversies. 

Privileged Labour Party supporters in Gozo are getting more than their fair share of the pie – the rest are ignored or worse, discriminated against. On a daily basis, I’m inundated with complaints from Gozitan SMEs about the government’s lack of support for SMEs and economic foresight for Gozo. I shall leave no stone unturned to expose the government’s lack of proper governance in Gozo and will stand up to be counted for my fellow Gozitans. There is a growing discontent with the government in Gozo. However, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has so far ignored the plight of honest, hard working Gozitans. 

However, in 2018 Gozitans will not vote PN because Labour fails to deliver. The PN will only win the Gozitans’ trust again if it proves that it is a better alternative to the Joseph Muscat and Anton Refalo administration. For that to happen, we need to step up our efforts. That is precisely what I’ve set out to do within my constituency.