New leader must give PN an identity

Bernard Grech did the right thing to resign from leader of the Nationalist Party. The resignation comes in the wake of dismal polling by the Nationalist Party.

As things stand today, the Labour Party is on course to win another landslide victory if a general election is held now.

But more significantly for Grech personally, was the dismal trust rating as measured by several polls conducted by MaltaToday and others. Grech failed to register any progress. He simply failed to inspire and fire up people, let alone set out his vision for the party and the country.

Nonetheless, Grech has to be credited for pacifying things within the PN after the friction and divisions that characterised Adrian Delia’s short-lived leadership. Grech reached out; embraced Delia and shared the stage with him when the latter won the Vitals court case to have three hospitals returned back to the public. It was an act of courage.

But it was not enough that Grech managed to heal some of the wounds and defuse the internal antagonism. The relative calm that Grech brought to the PN, unfortunately, did not translate into unity around a common, inspiring vision.

Within the circumstances, Grech did right to call it a day so that the party’s next chapter is written by a new leader.

However, it would be superficial to believe that the PN only needs a new leader. The party has failed to command an absolute majority in the country since the 2003 general election, which determined Malta’s entry into the EU. Since then, the PN only managed a relative majority in the 2008 general election—a mere 1,580-vote difference—and has had four leaders with no overriding vision of how it imagines the country.

The PN needs to have an identity; a raison d’etre. It will have to find its identity in the likes of a new leader who can propose a vision around which old and new can coalesce.

It is not enough for the PN’s identity to be defined by its opposition to the Labour Party. This strategy failed remarkably over the past 12 years. The PN has to be an alternative government that sets its own agenda. It has to be a self-confident party that remains grounded in reality. The old mantra that arrogantly blames the people for the PN’s inability to win has to be ditched.

The party would do well to understand the diversity and complexity of today’s society and be open to change, even in those areas where it has clung to traditionalist beliefs.

The PN does not need prima donnas, competing with the party leader for the limelight. It needs team players who can stand behind their captain—a captain, who can inspire.

It is a tall order indeed that is further complicated by the PN’s financial woes and a party structure that has crumbled over the years.

Trying to ask the party to solve its identity crisis before electing a leader, as some may argue, is unfeasible. Party politics does not work that way.

Those who intend to contest the leadership have to come forward with their vision of the PN; how they intend to reform the party to make it a formidable opponent and present itself as a government-in-waiting. Contenders have to mindful of the expectations that party functionaries and members have, but they must also be bold enough to challenge some of these expectations and propose change.

Within this context, the big question mark is: What will Roberta Metsola do?

It is pretty obvious that no one will make a move unless they know what the European Parliament President intends to do. A leadership bid by Metsola will most probably result in a one-horse race, given her larger than life persona and popularity.

Metsola has, so far, been very cagey about her intentions. The indecision has to end now. This is her chance to shape the PN and the country she calls home.

Furthermore, Grech’s departure should eventually lead to a deputy leadership race to give the new leader a clean slate once elected.

The rest of the country and not just PN members will be following with interest what happens at Dar Ċentrali. There is more at stake than simply a change in leadership.