PN back to square one: ‘It is disheartening’

An air of gloom hangs over the Nationalist Party after a dismal showing in MaltaToday’s April survey with functionaries talking of a “disheartening” effect. 

The survey showed the Labour Party ahead by 24,000 votes and PN Leader Bernard Grech with a trust rating of 20%, the lowest in 14 months. 

The results represent a significant setback for the PN which had gained some traction in the months after the positive performance in the European Parliament election last year. The momentum started fizzling out at the start of 2025 with the February survey giving the PL a relative majority and a lead of 12,000 votes. Two months later, the PL’s advance was confirmed. 

Several party functionaries, who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of anonymity to be able to speak freely about internal matters, said the survey numbers have caused disquiet. 

“It is disheartening to see those results just when you thought progress was being made,” a member of the parliamentary group said, noting that the PN was back to pre-EU election numbers. 

A problem, they added, was the lack of strategy to get the party message out to the masses and preventing the PN from setting the national agenda. 

But the MP also flagged the perception of division within the party as a result of recent events. 

“The administration is wasting a lot of energy mediating on issues created by some of our MPs who go off the grid leaving the party to grapple with the aftereffects of what they say,” they added. 

“It is frustrating for us who follow the party line and the direction given by the leader to see someone else blurt out whatever they want with little regard to how this will impact the party and fellow MPs,” they said. 

This sentiment was reflected by another MP, who said the ‘Kevin Cassar controversy’ was unwarranted. They were referring to Alex Borg’s outburst on social media against columnist Kevin Cassar, who described the Gozitan MP as the PL’s Trojan Horse in a newspaper opinion piece. The matter took on bigger proportions when some PN MPs publicly expressed solidarity with Borg. 

“The Labour Party capitalised on this incident and dictated the narrative that we are a divided party, while at the same time Labour blogger Neville Gafa has been butchering Minister Roderick Galdes on his blog and we are unable to take any mileage from this division within the PL,” the MP said visibly frustrated. 

Grech’s trust: ‘Situation is what it is’ 

Both MPs were not surprised with Bernard Grech’s low trust rating. “The situation is what it is; everyone knows Bernard Grech has a trust problem,” one of the MPs said with an air of resignation. 

However, the second MP noted that in five years since becoming leader, they expected Grech to have at least created a strategy team around him. “The party lacks strategy; we are constantly reacting to government’s ills but failing to put forward our own vision.” 

A party functionary, who is not an MP, was very clinical about current poll numbers: “If a general election is held now, the PN will suffer its fourth massive defeat in a row. Something must be done now.” 

They were less forgiving of Grech, noting he is unable to control the factionalism within the party. “The lack of decisive leadership simply creates the space for some MPs to do as they please, sending out the message that we are a divided party. Nobody wants to vote for a divided party,” they said. 

They pointed at two particular incidents in which the party’s narrative was set by individual MPs. The first was Karol Aquilina making disparaging remarks about the Speaker of the House that ended up dragging the party into a situation where it had to abstain on a censorship vote. The second was Alex Borg’s repeated statements on social media and private podcasts that undermined the PN leadership. 

The Azzopardi association, Metsola and Borg 

Another functionary told MaltaToday the party was suffering as a result of its association with NGO Repubblika and former MP Jason Azzopardi. “The Labour Party is good at branding Jason Azzopardi a PN radical even though he no longer militates in the party. Unfortunately, Bernard Grech does not have it in him to distance the party from some of Jason’s shenanigans and to make matters worse, NET TV keeps giving Jason space, which reinforces the perception advanced by Labour.” 

The functionary noted how Alex Borg was consistently positioning himself as a leader-in-waiting, ready to pounce the moment Grech decides to call it quits, whether now or after the election. But they also pointed out how Metsola was increasingly making forays into domestic politics of late with bold comments. 

“Although Roberta Metsola is the strongest unifying force that can give the PN hope, it all depends on whether she wants to leave her Brussels post and this uncertainty is not helping,” they said.