WATCH | Full interview with John Dalli, 'PN's political direction must change'

MaltaToday interview with John Dalli [26 September 2010] from maltatoday on Vimeo.
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EU Commissioner and former PN minister John Dalli has called for a “new political direction” in the party, while claiming that “a climate of apartheid has crept into the party, where today’s leader feels he must have all singing the same tune, which is definitely wrong…”

In a revealing interview with MaltaToday, the former PN leadership contender hits out at the current party leadership: “when you have someone who dictates and leave nobody the space to contradict as it would mean certain elimination, I say that this is surely not the way to foster a democracy nor lead an organization, such as the PN.”

He pays tribute to former leader Eddie Fenech Adami's style of leadership: “we had a party built on diverse opinions, made of people who were free to think, debate, and even contradict, and that is what made the PN stronger and stronger over the years, as its values were consequently strengthened…”  

“This led to an automatic process of clarity in ideas and vision, as an open internal debate created a filter that perfected ideas…”

When asked how he sees the PN perform as the party in government, John Dalli stressed that: “it’s an established fact that the party is very influential on government, in the sense that the party in government reflects the vision of the Party, so when that vision starts to become blurred, government’s efficiency is the first to suffer…”

“This is where I believe that in real and immediate terms, we must take stock of the situation and be concrete in addressing the situation and identify where we are doing well and fairing badly.”

During the interview, John Dalli also talks about MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s private member's bill that proposes the introduction of divorce.

 “I would opt to separate the issue in two parts: content and method…”

“The method was a ‘bombshell’, because I would have never expected such an initiative during my time, when we were the PN under Eddie Fenech Adami, because when I explained to you that we had an ongoing and lively internal debate, there was an element of control and discipline.”

“But I must say that in our time, we had the space to speak out and express our ideas, and there was never any need to take any extraordinary initiatives…in simple words, we were bonded by absolute loyalty towards each other.”

“We were one in principle and direction. We may have disagreed between us on certain matters, but we remained friends, we didn’t fight. So if one of us had an idea or a proposal to bring forward, he or she had the space to do it freely within the party and develop it…”

He insists that the divorce debate must be “real”, not “emotional”, and certainly not depart from the premise that Malta must adopt divorce because it exists around the world.

“We should introduce divorce after conducting an analysis of our society, on how this could help certain situations, but also on how it could increase certain problems.”

“We must not forget that divorce is certainly not the solution to everything, because like any other instrument handed to citizens will be abused, and whatever law you pass, that abuse will cause further problems for certain people.”

“But divorce could also give space and mean a brand new beginning for many, and this is the balanced frame of mind every politician must foster when debating this issue.”

John Dalli disagrees with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s approach to the matter by saying that divorce will not be decided by parliament but by referendum, as it is “too big for 65 MP’s to decide on…”

“I totally disagree with this because a referendum depends on the question to be put forward…”

“I honestly do not think that you can place a question on an issue such as divorce with all its problematic…and this is why I believe that all MPs who were elected by the people have to assume the responsibility of deciding on this matter."