What next?

The next leader of the Nationalist Party is Alex Borg. It has been an uneventful campaign. Today is not the time to question whether the chosen candidate is in fact the best choice.  

The democratic process is what it is, and we must respect the outcome. What we all know is that the Nationalist Party (PN) has been unable to rattle the Labour government, let alone dislodge it. It is regarded as a party that cannot win an election and that image has not changed.

Will it now? It can but it will not be easy.

The PN has been unable to reinvent itself since 2008 and more so elect leaders who take the party to new levels and pastures. Roberta Metsola was the one and only person to help the PN overcome this, but she intentionally missed the bus, preferring to hang on to her European Parliamentary post.

Voters tend to forget that when the Nationalist Party was riding high in the eighties and nineties, and even after that, it was a magnet for all types: liberals, conservatives, populists, left-wingers, believers and atheists. It attracted the best talent, the most creative of individuals that contributed to making the PN appear modern and dynamic and a haven for younger idealistic voters.

It also offered a dream to many Maltese, old and young alike, promising a Malta that could be peaceful, and free of thuggery and violence. It argued that capitalism was not such a bad idea after all and that Malta’s rightful place was with being at the same table with other top European States.

The PN’s allure ended with the passage of time, and when times changed and Labour learnt from its lessons by moving more to the political centre, it did so without shedding its progressive and social outlook. The PN could not catch up. It also failed miserably under Gonzi, Busuttil, Delia and Grech. Surely many of its failures are a result of Labour’s successes.

Can it change the trend now?

The PN in Opposition wasted most of its time reminding people that the sun only rose under a Nationalist administration and that Labour was intrinsically bad, corrupt and that all Labourites were agents from hell. It got worse when the PN refuted reforms such as divorce, gay rights, IVF and twiddled their thumbs when it came to other proposed reforms such as euthanasia.

But as it pronounced these works, Labour engineered an economy that left many people more comfortable and simply richer.

That we need a strong Opposition goes without saying. That we need to have the possibility of a grounded and pragmatic Opposition party, with the ability to govern one day, is the least we expect in a normal democracy. That checks and balances are normal in a democracy is very, very dependent on whether the PN is ready to govern.

The PN that was led by Bernard Grech failed to inspire. Will Alex Borg’s PN attract that cohort of voters that will make it truly with a chance to get elected? 

To start with it, the PN needs to map out a vision that will take it into the next decade.

The PN must shed its pretentious stance on issues and to open up to the changing landscape of the younger electorate. It also has a gargantuan task in convincing the middle class, that remains mesmerised by the economic drive of the Labour government, that it too can drive a booming economy.

How will a future PN raise thorny topics and take positions without distancing itself further from the business community and the middle class? And will the PN continue to be fundamentalist and a moral crusader when it approaches a social issue which has a heavy dose of moral dimension?

Alex Borg will have to be a leader for all Nationalists and willing to embrace voters who are traditionally Labourite.

Alex Borg will also have to engage with a formidable adversary. The Labour party is a well-greased party and Abela a talented politician. The Labour party is also ruthless and capable of raising money and dispatching an army of volunteers in an election campaign.

Can the PN rise to the occasion?

To do so, it must inspire, motivate and convince people to listen to their message.

Only time will tell if it turns out positive for the PN.