Bernard Grech in heartfelt appeal for unity and humility: ‘We still look down on people’

Bernard Grech did not shy away from describing lack of unity within the Nationalist Party an “open wound” when addressing party councillors on Sunday.

In a heartfelt appeal, the PN leader called for unity among party functionaries and humility to be able to win back the trust of people.

In a reference to the PN’s dismal poll results, Grech said the perception among people is that the party is not united enough. 

“I am sure that there are many people with good intentions but if we continue doubting each other, showing mistrust in each other and not believing in each other, it sends the wrong message,” he said. “These are open wounds. I have to address them because we have to forget ourselves and focus on the collective.”

But Grech also put his finger on another problem besetting the PN: lack of humility. “We still look down on people. Nobody is worse than us. We are not better than others. Let us respect people’s intelligence. We are still not doing this enough.”

Grech used his speech at the close of the PN general council with the theme Politics Of Trust And Hope to urge party members to focus their energy on working in the present.

In what was a veiled reference to the prevailing feeling among PN members and supporters that the party can only recover if and when Roberta Metsola ever takes over the leadership, Grech said: “What we can do we have to do today. It is useless to look at our past with nostalgia or dream of the future because we can only make the future better by working in the present.”

Grech urged everyone in the party to pull the same rope. “Those who talk less are usually those who work the most and those criticise most are usually those who work the least,” he said.

Borrowing from John F. Kennedy’s famous words, Grech asked his followers to ask themselves what they could do to make things better.

“Ask yourself when was the last time you had a word of courage for your colleague, or a word to dishearten them. When people are convinced that we can give them a good government that works better they will trust us but we have to be our best. We have to ask ourselves what we can do more and do better because it is only when we do more and do better we will be start moving forward in leaps and bounds,” Grech said.

Reflecting on his decision to enter the political fray, Grech said his motivation was to dedicate time and effort to the party and the country. “I want to give a future to the present and future generations and I will continue asking myself what I can do better. I will continue taking the necessary decisions in the party’s best interest.”

He reiterated that being honest about the party’s dismal finances during the post-general election leadership campaign was not a mistake. “Honesty remains the best policy because you do not waste energy trying to remember when and how you lied like government functionaries have done.”

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