The next 365 days: Alex Borg’s letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

It’s been a great year for me. Winning the Nationalist Party leadership race was a dream come true, even if it was a close call with just 44 votes separating Adrian and myself.

Nonetheless, given that I was contesting against a former leader, who many felt still had unfinished business, it was a great result.

But as you know, the more difficult work came afterwards. Trying to heal past and fresh wounds, patch up differences between people in the party, while instilling a new sense of hope in PN supporters, was tough. But the wave of enthusiasm my victory generated from several likely and unlikely quarters helped smoothen things.

I greatly appreciated President Myriam Spiteri Debono’s words that my call for national unity was music to her ears, when I took my oath of office as Opposition leader. I’m sure her words bothered those who tried to belittle me because of my age.

Admittedly, I’ve made a few slip-ups along the way such as forgetting that Nerik Mizzi, one of the PN’s founders, had contested the Gozo district as leader.

Sarah’s indiscretion when she forgot to renew her car insurance and licence was potentially damaging but she handled it well by being upfront about the matter and apologising publicly. The incident helped us realise what we signed up for when I contested the leadership—the role comes with increased personal scrutiny. And I say ‘we’, because Sarah has been an integral cog in the machine, not only offering emotional support but also by providing practical assistance while I discharge my political functions. She is a people’s person in her own right.

I’ve tried to leave my mark on the party and the political scene in these first 100 days. I wanted to show that the PN is back in business, willing to set the national agenda while listening to people and opening its arms to all those of goodwill who wish to contribute.

The appointment of Sabine as the party’s first CEO is part of my resolve to get the party’s finances in order. This remains crucial, even for our credibility.

The rapprochement with Edwin Vassallo may have irked those who are socially liberal but it also helped mark that the PN is a broad church. For years, people like Edwin, who are religiously conservative at heart and whose natural home was always the PN, may have felt estranged in a new world. But in a party that has always cherished dialogue, I believe there is space for an exchange between people like Edwin and others who want a more secular country that embraces civil rights.

Admittedly, bridging the gap between the two is not an easy task and my personal views oscillate between the two. But singular people do not single-handedly make party policy. It’s the collective that counts and the different voices can help draft a middle ground that is comfortable to the widest possible section of society—at least that is what I would like to see.

During these first 100 days I’ve found people willing to close an eye to my mistakes, giving me the chance to prove myself over time. I know this goodwill won’t last for ever and people will be expecting more substance to understand how their lives could be better if they decide to trust the PN with their vote in the next general election. People need to have certainty that the good things happening in their life will not be disrupted, while hoping that their concerns and aspirations can be addressed.

I believe I kicked off on a good note with my budget reaction. I still need to improve in my delivery but the budget reaction included 50 proposals that showed the PN is preparing itself to govern. The flagship proposal—the introduction of a child trust fund—was not only spelt out but also explained with an accompanying document that showed its benefits and cost. This is the way forward to convince an electorate that has grown increasingly sceptical of politicians.

I also reached out to the prime minister, offering to sit down with him and sign a memorandum of understanding on a mass transport system. Whether it’s an underground metro, or a mix between underground and above ground, a tram, or a mixture of everything, we all know that it will cost billions of euros to implement. We also know that any such infrastructure will cut across different administrations to be completed. We also know that to ensure viability, people have to be enticed to use it. These are difficult decisions to make as politicians, which is why they have always been postponed. It is within this context that I offered Robert Abela the hand of friendship to ensure cross-party support for a mass transport system, irrespective of whoever the people choose to govern the country in the next election. This is the way forward on issues of national concern and I only hope my supporters see this as magnanimity and not weakness.

As for Robert, we have several things in common, not least our love for the gym and maintaining good physical health. He tried to play catch-up on a few occasions but sometimes, I feel the prime minister displays a sense of superiority towards me, probably because of my young age. I may lack the political experience Robert and others on both sides of the House have but it would be a mistake to underestimate my ability to listen, learn and take advice. My strength is connecting with people, something which I feel is crucial if the PN is to become a people’s party once again.

And then there are those MaltaToday surveys that have given us cause for hope lately. They are positive but the truth is we still trail the Labour Party. I am not happy coming second, even if we manage to cut the gap between the parties substantially in the next election. I want to win. It’s a difficult task but not impossible and that is what I am trying to convince Nationalists of. My leadership has instilled a positive vibe and I’d like to keep it this way.

Overall, 2025 has turned out pretty fine but it’s the new year that now beckons. The new year will be the one that makes me or breaks me—and consequently the party—which is why I have prepared this wish list for Christmas.

1.Peace

I wish for peace in the world, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East. But I also wish for peace on the home front. I would like to see renewed unity among PN MPs and functionaries because it is only a united party that can attract voters to us.

2. Sarah

I wish she will remember to pay her car insurance and licence to avoid embarrassment that could be more damaging next time around.

3. Donors

We need money—lots of it, actually—to survive and be competitive as a party. What I ask is for donors to come forward, hopefully with no strings attached.

4. A finance guru

Don’t get me wrong; Adrian and Jerome are fine, intelligent guys. But they are not economists and are no match for Clyde Caruana. I need someone of stature from outside the party who is willing to cross the Rubicon and become a politician and give Clyde a run for his money while convincing people the country could have a safe pair of hands on its financial rudder with the PN in government.

5. Adrian Delia

I wish Adrian would not use his Facebook to make poetic statements that impinge on other spokespersons’ portfolios. He is an asset to the party, a fine speaker, affable and wise but he also needs to become more of a team player.

6. Middle class

Ivan, Charles, Albert and others have their heart in the right place when they focus on poverty and the downtrodden. But it’s also about time the PN re-appropriates the world ‘middle class’ and speak about the aspirations, concerns and hopes of this large swathe of voters, who are not poor or broken but can be under pressure. I wish we can all understand, myself included, that the middle class is key to winning the election.

7. Repubblika

I wish we could have a mutually respectful relationship that recognises our different roles and hope they do not invent some embarrassing protest outside parliament banging on pots and pans.

8. Jason Azzopardi

I wish Jason would stop trying to outwit and outperform journalists in uncovering facts whenever a government scandal of sorts crops up. His speculative banter on Facebook is at times error-prone and definitely unhelpful because it gives Labour a cause célèbre to hit back at us, even if we have nothing to do with him.

9. Deputy leader

I want to fulfil my pledge to create the role of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs but I wish this to be an anointment of someone who understands my youthful approach, is moderate and a good communicator. Basically, I wish Darren Carabott to be deputy leader.

10. The young

My Instagram has 33k followers and has been very busy since becoming leader—the busiest for any PN leader so far, I dare say. I just wish that the young who interact with me on social media will eventually translate this enthusiasm into votes when the big day comes.