Alex Borg’s biggest challenge now

The Nationalist Party under Alex Borg has gained a new lease of life. It is being less reactive and more pre-emptive on issues of national concern. There is also a more concerted effort to propose new ideas. The direction from on top is clearer and more cohesive. Enthusiasm in the party’s rank and file has increased and Borg has more ears willing to listen to what he has to say than his previous three predecessors. 

The PN today is in its best shape since losing the 2013 general election and what is more remarkable is the short timespan within which this change has occurred. 

Borg’s effective social media strategy, his youthfulness and disposition to still find time to be in the company of his partner and her son, are qualities that have endeared Borg to ordinary people. Many more people want to know more about the PN leader, his beliefs and what he intends to do. 

However, it would be foolish for Borg to rest on his laurels. He knows that the qualities he has brought to the table can only take him so far and enthusiasm on its own is not enough to take his party across the finish line. 

Important as these first steps have been since becoming leader last September, Borg’s real test will be the general election. And to win he needs to convince people that he is the better option to steer MV Malta through calm and choppy waters alike. 

The question Borg has to answer is why should people, who may have many gripes about the Labour government but are still doing relatively well, trust him with the keys to Auberge de Castille? 

Why should anybody who has benefitted from tax cuts, stable energy prices, free childcare, improved social benefits and pensions, and a myriad of other measures that have helped lift families up the social ladder change the captain at the wheel? 

Despite the sudden growth of the population over the past 12 years, which has created tangible pressure points across society that are being felt even more today, vast swathes of the middle class are still doing well. To those who are irked by several aspects of Labour’s governance, the administration represents the devil they know and may be less willing to jump onto a ship captained by someone who is untried. 

This is Borg’s biggest challenge. The obvious problems the PN has been talking about do concern people but on their own may not necessarily determine how they will ultimately vote in an election. 

This is the landscape the PN has consistently failed to understand since 2013. If people are doing relatively well, or perceive their financial and family wellbeing to be good, every other problem is very likely to take secondary priority. It’s not written in stone that voters will never shift if the times are good but it becomes harder to convince them to do so. 

This is why Borg must provide, first and foremost, peace of mind that the ship of state will not make a sudden U-turn that destabilises it. People need reassurance that what they have achieved thus far in terms of financial wellbeing will not be lost. And it’s not enough to argue about the PN’s past successes to convince people. Malta in 2026 is a vastly different country from what it was in 2012—the last year of a PN government. 

It is a question of trust and it would help the PN immensely if Borg can convince new, respectable faces to step forward as candidates. 

And then there is also the need to come up with policies that convince people their standard of living can only improve with a PN government. Borg must reassure people that a PN government will create the right conditions for them to earn more if they are ambitious enough, while providing a welfare system that is present at the moment of need and where possible encourages independence rather than dependence. 

The PN must put forward a holistic vision of how families with children can be helped financially and otherwise, while proposing measures for a better work-life balance without spooking employers. 

The PN needs credible plans to address the shortcomings in the health, transport and energy sectors. It requires a strategy that speaks honestly about the need for foreign workers, while ensuring the state will take back control of the system. 

It’s all a question of finding the right balance between continuity and change. To do so, Borg has to tell a story of how he envisages a better country, a more beautiful Malta, a place where people can earn good money, where children can get the best educational experience, and where communities feel safe. 

Admittedly, it’s a tall order and there is little time to spare. Is it impossible to achieve? No. But it will require focussed leadership, clarity, honesty and a team that inspires trust.