Resilience is the mark of the Nationalist Party, says PN leader

Resilience was the mark of a political party that was using its time in Opposition to determine what party it wants to be in a society that was changing, Leader of the Nationalist Party Simon Busuttil said.

Acknowledging that the PN must recognise its mistakes and that it may have not always been on the right side of history, Busuttil said he wanted the PN to be an inclusive party which interpreted its principles based on a society that has changed.

In a direct appeal for change, Busuttil said the PN must be a secular party that respected the different religious beliefs and values.

“If we want a united society we have to be the first to bring people together. We have to be open to welcome new people and be the first not to fear challenges.”

The PN leader was addressing a mass meeting at the Floriana Granaries celebrating the 50th anniversary of Independence Day.

Announcing a general convention that will be taking place next month, Busuttil said the PN could not hold back from embracing change if it wanted to see changes in the country.

“We were on the right side of history in the past…our ambition is to be on the right side of history in the future. But to this, we have to ask what kind of society do the Maltese want to live in. And to that, we must be a party that reflects that society.”

Busuttil surprised those gathered by walking through the crowd and greeting people before heading towards the stage where the Nationalist MPs and MEPs, the 12 newly announced candidates and members of the administrative of the party were waiting for him after Chris Said’s speech.

With footage of former Nationalist Prime Minister George Borg Olivier airing in the background, Busuttil paid tribute to Malta’s first Independence prime minister.

Busuttil said the PN opened the doors of freedom wide open to everyone, irrespective of who the persons were, irrespective of the sexual orientation.

He reminded how the PN and himself never gave up on seeing Malta as a member of the European Union: “I didn’t give up during that time… I’m not going to give up today.”

Chris Said deplores ‘undemocratic Labour’

PN secretary general Chris Said said the PN was that party that brought about the biggest changes on the island be it the economy, employment, education, health, the rule of law or Malta’s accession to the European Union.

“These changes wouldn’t have been possible without George Borg Olivier, Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi,” he said, rallying the party faithful with Fenech Adami’s most famous quote “good will always win” [is-sewwa jirbah zgur] to the loud applause of the party faithful gathered at the Granaries.

Said hit out at the Labour government over its sale of the Australia Hall in Pembroke, adding that the PN did not address its financial problems by selling out public property.

“Did you know that the Labour Party has 22 party clubs which are public property and six band clubs requisitioned from private families? I challenge the Labour to return the properties back to their owners and compensate them,” he said.

Explaining how the party’s media underwent changes to become credible and a media that respected the people’s intelligence, Said urged those present to contribute with the donations.

“People are now realising that under Labour’s new glossy mask is the old Labour,” he said, recounting how an elderly woman was paying for her own medicine due to the medicine that was out of stock.

Listing grievances relayed by different people – elderly, families, a Gozitan man - Said said people were suffering vindictive transfers to accommodate those close to the Labour core.

“All of you know people who suffered through similar cases. You were promised a Malta for all, and yet this is not the reality… criminality is not the Malta people voted for.”

The secretary general hit out at the government for not controlling the debt that has now “spiraled out of control”. He said that shop owners, supported by statistics, complained of a decline in sales.

He said the government was playing with the future of Air Malta’s workers, “whose finances are stretched”.

Said called for updates on the development of the new power station and the publication of contracts. He accused the government of  “playing around” with democracy after taking the decision to cancel next year’s local council elections.

“If Muscat wants to save money, he should not target democracy but revise the salary awarded to Sai Mizzi Liang, Silvio Schembri and that person being paid to find a garage for bands,” he said, referring to William Mangion but stopping short of mentioning him by name.

He also criticised government for failing to go ahead with an impeachment motion against now retired judge Lino Farrugia Sacco “because his son is a Labour candidate”.