Azzjoni Nazzjonali’s questionable performance during the last electoral campaign will not stop the party from sounding its voice in future, deputy leader Anglu Xuereb said yesterday.
Although party leader Josie Muscat has resigned, Xuereb said AN would continue its mission. “We shall definitely not become a pressure group. We shall remain a party.”
“This election was dominated by the leading political parties which influenced their supporters to vote in block votes. The MLP and PN dominated the media. This helped so that no small political party could harm their chances,” Xuereb said. “We were denied exposure from the media. Their television stations never invited us. Only their voice was heard. We only made our voice heard in the last month.”
Xuereb avoided any speculation over the next AN leader: “Josie resigned, but the party has to move forward. We shall have an assembly where whoever is interested can put forward his nomination. Then we’ll take it from there.”
Asked whether he is interested to be leader himself, Xuereb replied: “As yet I am the deputy leader. Then we’ll see what happens in the general assembly.”
In his comments to MaltaToday, a bitter Josie Muscat said: “The result is what it is, the country is what it is and the people are what they are. It is very clear that even if people want to hide behind someone, facts show otherwise. One can only hope that one learns from previous mistakes, like that we can move forward.”
This was Muscat’s comeback after 20 years out of the political scene. Yet he resigned after five months. Does he intend getting back into politics at some point? His focus seems to be clear: “At this point what I wish to focus on is my own business, family and daughter. I think I gave a lot to this country; as much as I could. I did take the country’s message.”
Muscat also briefly outlined his regrets: “I do believe that we were not perfect and we made mistakes along the way. But I also think that it takes a lot of courage to try and challenge the other political parties.”