[WATCH] Charles Bonello: ‘PN cannot forget values on which it was built’

While adapting itself to modern realities, the Nationalist Party cannot forget the values on which it is built, new Secretary General Charles Bonello believes.  

He sits down for an interview days after being confirmed in the post by the Nationalist Party’s Executive Council.  

Bonello, who still serves as personal assistant to former premier Lawrence Gonzi, believes his connection to the last Nationalist administration, which ended up losing the 2013 general election with a 36,000 vote-gap, will not a be a hurdle to success.  

“Judge me on what I will do,” he tells me. “What I can guarantee is that I will do my utmost to continue moving the party forward.”  

He also insists he is not ashamed of his connection to the former prime minister.  

“I would be ashamed if Gonzi received the award for corrupt person of the year,” he tells me, in a swipe at former Labour leader Joseph Muscat.  

Bonello praised the work of previous Nationalist administrations, saying they built the economic landscape on which the “Malta of today” works.  

He does concede that mistakes were made in the runup to the 2013 general election, but says the stars aligned for a Labour victory that year. He points to the Labour Party having a new leader, and the PN spending more than two decades in power.  

On a recent parliamentary motion filed government, in which it condemned Opposition MP Karol Aquilina’s attitude towards the Speaker, Bonello said it was akin to how Labour administrations acted in the 1980s.  

“Government is sending the message that when it has the majority, it can bully the minority,” he tells me. He defends the decision by PN MPs to abandon parliament, stating they did so to defend the country’s democracy.  

Questioned on reports by Labour media that the walkout was a compromise following disagreement within the PN’s parliamentary group on how to vote, Bonello insists the Opposition should be judged on its actions.  

“All our MPs walked out of the House because the parliamentary group did not want to be part of that discussion, which was an attack on the parliamentary democracy of this country,” he says. “Judge us by our actions.” 

The following is an excerpt of the interview.  

Watch the full interview on maltatoday.com.mt, Facebook and Spotify. 

In the year 2025, is there still the place for conservative politics, or should the Nationalist Party widen its appeal by shifting further to the centre in the political spectrum? 

We have always been a centre-right party. We need to keep the values on which this party was built, but at the same time adapt and mould these values for the year 2025. What applied in the 1920s or the 1940s does not apply today. The values are still there, but I cannot apply those values in the way our predecessors did.  

[…] 

We believe in the politics of service. In my opinion anyone in politics is there to serve. The values are there to guide us, and in the same way, those values need to help people. 

Among these values is the party’s anti-abortion stance. Malta is among the few remaining countries where abortion remains illegal. In an interview you have already said the PN will remain against abortion. But would you accept a candidate or MP who is openly in favour of abortion? Do they have a place inside the PN? 

I respect what the individual believes. But when you are in a club, you have to abide by the club’s rules. I am being very clear and not beating around the bush – in our statute it is clearly laid out that we are in favour of life.  

[…] 

What you personally believe is on you, that is your decision. But when you join the party, it has its rules, or else you end up having parties, not a party. I am certain on this. 

You were elected in a one-horse race. Others were initially contesting the role, but they eventually dropped out. Having such a situation, especially for the important role of Secretary General, does it not send the wrong message? 

The first thing I wanted to point out is that I had no say in how the situation panned out. The second thing is that I was confirmed – the executive voted for me, this is all public, and they could have voted against me taking up the role.  

I can assure you there is a place for everyone here. Anyone has the chance to work in the different party structures. I believe that everyone has the potential to contribute, even those who might not agree with me. The party is not mine; it is everyone’s party. 

You recently said you will remain Lawrence Gonzi’s personal assistant. He was the last Nationalist prime minister, and under his leadership the party lost a substantial number of votes. Do you think that connection between you two, plays into the narrative that the PN is still being led by the old guard? 

Judge me on what I will do. The only thing I can guarantee is that I will do my best to continue moving this party forward, and ensure we are in the right place to win the general election. I am in this role to give my everything to the party.  

You might want to assimilate me with Lawrence Gonzi – and let me be clear, I have nothing to be ashamed of. I would be ashamed if he was awarded the award for most corrupt person in the world. 

In an interview you spoke about the need for more discipline. What were you referring to? More discipline within party structures, or among MPs?  

I spoke about the need for more discipline, not just discipline – more. I believe there should be more order; not to say there isn’t any, but I believe that if we are more disciplined within the party, we can move even more forward.  

If you have a car in tiptop condition, it moves better than a car which has something in the wheels, the handbrake is not working… 

In the recent situation we had in parliament, was it a case where Karol Aquilina was not disciplined enough? 

No, I do not agree. What the Labour Party did was an attack on the country’s highest institution and on democracy. 

The PN is yet to submit its accounts to the Electoral Commission. I asked your predecessor when the party would be submitting them, and he said soon, but they were never submitted. He later said the auditor was looking over the accounts. As a party which is always going on about good governance and rule of law, does this not bother you?  

Rest assured I will do my best to fix the situation. I must also say I have been in the role for only days, and so I cannot give you an answer to everything, but it is worrying, and I want to resolve the issue.  

I also understand that it does not just depend on us, we need to employ experts, and so there is a period within which we have to work.