They say Gonzi has lost control over his party. That RCC and Gatt dictate policy, that his ministers do not listen to the people. The PN diehards go public.
PN party activists are in a rage over their party’s complacency in addressing the serious problems afflicting the credibility of the party, its leadership and the government.
They claim that the writing was clearly on the wall months before the humiliating defeat at the European Parliament elections of 6 June – in which the PN got two of the six seats with 40% of the vote – to the extent that some are insisting the party conduct a serious analysis on the performance of all Cabinet ministers, and their secretariats.
Others say the party and government are in the hands of Richard Cachia Caruana – Malta’s permanent representative to the EU and former right-hand man to Eddie Fenech Adami – and Austin Gatt, the bullish minister of investments, transport and communications. The prime minister, on the other hand, has lost his authority over his ministers, the party councillors say. They say the ministers have a different agenda.
In this exclusive report, MaltaToday approached a considerable number of ‘diehard’ Nationalist activists who are urgently calling for a General Council to be convened for them to air their concerns about the future direction of the party in government, “before it’s too late.”
Across Malta and Gozo, activists have sounded their fury at what they unilaterally defined as a serious breakdown in communication between the PN administration, themselves and the electorate.
Meanwhile, the activists have revealed a crisis situation within the structures of the districts: they complain that in many localities nobody is coming forward to be part of the sectional committees, or worse – as one put it – those who go for the posts, “either want something, or who get what they want and then run off.”
The situation gets worse, when the same activists admit they only voted for the love of the party, “otherwise the PN would not have merited [their] vote”.
Some speak of being tempted to vote Labour, while others said they feel “hated” or “ridiculed” by the general public, because they are PN party activists.
But while the activists are strongly calling for a General Council to be summoned to take stock of the serious situation facing the party, senior PN officials have revealed that such a meeting is not even being considered for the moment.
The news was confirmed by PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier who informed this paper that the General Council will be convened according to the party statute. “The debate about the party’s work is an internal matter and discussions are held within the party structures according to the same statute provisions,” was Paul Borg Olivier’s reply to our questions.
While MaltaToday remained without a reply to follow-up questions on whether the PN would consider convening the General Council in the wake of the EP electoral results, internal PN sources said the party administration wants to let the anger cool off for the rest of the summer, and convene the General Council after the Independence celebrations – in September – “so perhaps the PN could gain some momentum.”
Many however are considering this move as a clear attempt to silence dissenting voices rather than making them public through an open forum such as the General Council.
Following the stormy parliamentary group meeting just days after the heavy EP elections on June 6, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was faced with yet another barrage of angry charges by the executive and administrative councils.
It was here that the Prime Minister had to instruct his secretary-general to prepare an agenda for him to meet every sectional committee around the island.
According to Paul Borg Olivier, these meetings will be part of the PN’s “internal analysis of the electoral result, and will contribute to the strategy to win the next general election.”
But Lawrence Gonzi and Paul Borg Olivier know that they are faced with an uphill struggle, as the party grass roots are in turmoil, and dissent is brewing within the most fervent of activists.
“It is more than evident that both government and the PN are being led by the unelected Richard Cachia Caruana, and Minister Austin Gatt, who seem to dictate the policy, and all bow down to what these two men say or decide.”
Daniel Farrugia from Qrendi, is considered to be one of the PN’s most worthy soldiers. For decades he has been at the forefront, assisting PN ministers and candidates while handling constituents. He spent more than 10 years in former minister Louis Galea’s secretariat. Today, together with others who were Galea’s footsoldiers, he feels sidelined.
“I lost my employment and had to register for work for months. I am now a security guard by the Rabat catacombs. My family ridicules me for having been so stupid and having abandoned my family to work for the party, and what I get in return is a shut door. I voted because I love the party, but believe me: in my case the PN didn’t merit my vote at all.”
Another frontline PN activist is Paul Caruana from Marsa. He insists the General Council must instruct the party administration to conduct a thorough assessment on all Ministers and the people around them. “It is ridiculous to see people who still believe in the infallibility of re-election, while as I see it, there is no way for re-election with this attitude of non communication with the electorate.”
Carmen Attard, a well-known PN activist in Zebbug, insists it is “high time for the PN to realise that it must listen to the people, if it really wants to win elections. Out there, people are really disgruntled, and seem to have lost faith in the party as the stalwart for dialogue.”
“I personally feel that – and this is also the opinion of many people out there – the PN is not being led by its leader. While it is unfair that the Prime Minister then has to carry the weight of his ministers’ actions, we as party frontliners feel very hurt to be ignored, let alone the rest of the electorate.
“A simple example of what I mean, is that all doors to communicate with people that matter inside the party are shut, they claim to always be busy, and when I asked to have an urgent MRI scan due to my deteriorating health, I was left on a waiting list for six months, and like me there are hundreds. I only voted because I love the party but any other ordinary Nationalist would have sent them to hell.”
In Zabbar – a Labour stronghold – Joseph Buttigieg is a PN local councillor and is known for his hard work for the party in the locality. He says that the “PN is at a crossroads. It either decides to start listening to the electorate, or else it can forget being re-elected in four years’ time.”
“People are furious at the ministers’ attitude, who simply brush off any claim for assistance from anybody. They just refuse to listen, and this has also spread to Castille where the supposedly customer service within the Prime Minister’s office, just doesn’t even bother to acknowledge an enquiry.
“I myself, a known activist, have found the doors shut by senior government officials at OPM, let alone an ordinary citizen who has no political ties, it’s absurd. I believe that the Cabinet is too small, and the ministers run super-ministries and have absolute power, and see people as flies (jaraw lin-nies dubbien).”
In Siggiewi, Kola Schembri insists a General Council must be convened to debate the extent of the people’s disgruntlement.
“We have a situation where hundreds of people who have suffered injustices, or have a simple issue, and are just in their claims, receive an acknowledgement by the authorities, but then are simply left to their fate with no solution, and this is unacceptable. This is 2009 and not the early 1980s.
“The way the water and electricity bills were introduced was aggressive and without any style, it hurt people and it contributed to the already difficult economic situation for many families. Ministers are party members, and they must be responsible for their actions, while the Prime Minister must exert his authority, rather than have ministers act as renegades.”
In Valletta, well-known football executive Paul Spiteri is also a PN activist and councillor. He says he expects a General Council to have “an open and mature debate on the real causes that contributed to the devastating the EP elections. I dare to say that it could be a trend where the electorate uses these elections to tease government, but I also suspect that the message in this case is more related to government rather than the party. Honestly speaking, I do believe that government has a serious problem in communication.”
Newly-elected Victoria (Gozo) mayor Samuel Azzopardi expressed his disappointment at the electoral trashing incurred in Gozo. “Many of our voters didn’t even bother to vote, and those who did voted Labour. This never happened before. I expect the PN to make a judicious assessment of this result, and in particular in Gozo, where job losses, hunting and the utility tariffs dominated the electorate’s mind.
“People are hurt due to the way certain decisions were taken in the country, and although it is a government affair, all ministers must assume their responsibility and realise that it’s their own party and people that they are hurting. It’s not the Prime Minister who has to shoulder the brunt of the defeat, but the ministers who seem to be pulling a separate rope, and not coordinating anything between themselves.”
Mario Camilleri is the PN Committee President in Qormi. He says the Party must learn to listen, and stick to its promise of constant dialogue.
“Us who work in the district committees know what the people are talking about, we know their concerns and their aspirations. It is high time that the party puts into motion a structure that can at least listen to us in the committees, and not just consider us as fundraisers at stalls or membership card distributors. We are not a number, but the heart of the grassroots.”
The veteran PN mayor in St Julian’s, Peter Bonello, stressed his belief that the party “must debate the importance of focusing on Malta’s needs, but also not forget what the people are saying, even though some of the disgruntlement is egoistic.”
Another popular PN mayor is Balzan’s John Zammit Montebello, who called for a PN General Council “to bring the party back to its senses. Collectively the party must find its roots and transmit a brand new message of openness to the grassroot level.”
“It is useless to have a party that is alienated by national projects, but then forgets the local issues. I’m afraid we have a situation of complacency where government seems not to be interested in what the people are saying, there seems to be an atmosphere of ‘high and mighty’ within government and this is not right. People want to be heard, and I guess they found that out in the European elections.
“You can see that the voter has become intelligent and sends his message the right way, and you can also witness this when you analyse the vote on the same day for local councils. On a local level, people expressed themselves as they believed was best.
“Even the campaign was incorrect. The party spoke on ideals and principles, which in today’s world are nice to hear but don’t change a citizen’s lifestyle. Labour in turn, spoke on real issues.”
Another newly-elected mayor is Sliema’s Nikki Dimech who expressed hope that the party will keep its promise of taking stock of the electorate’s message. “We have four years to repair the damage incurred, and I believe that if the Prime Minister is given all the assistance he needs to reach out to all those the party may have lost, then we can recoup. We must take into consideration that the country has many challenges before it, including the international economic crisis. Nothing is easy, and not all could be pleased.”
Former PN Minister Censu Galea’s daughter, Graziella Galea, is St Paul’s Bay’s mayor. She stressed the “urgent need for the PN to discuss and decide how to sell government’s work in all sectors. It is unacceptable that so much is being done and the PR machine is non-existent. People are either badly informed or they have no idea about what reforms are in place or upcoming, their implications and so on.”
A different sort of opinion comes from the young sports commentator Christian Micallef, from Valletta, who believes that any debate regarding the electoral defeat of June 6, “must be held behind closed doors, and surely not an open exercise where people would find it convenient to point fingers and lump the blame on whoever they like. This is a party, with a history of collective decisions. This is not the right time to break the tradition of loyalty.
“When we win we all celebrate and assume the merit, while when we lose we tend to point fingers and accuse people for responsibility. I am for a debate yes, but it must be a closed but free debate between party councillors who would feel comfortable to discuss and propose methods of better communication with the electorate.”
Birkirkara’s deputy mayor Doris Borg stressed that “the PN must seriously look into all the issues that have driven voters away from it. I have had it up to here listening to the people’s disgruntlement. Some are genuine, others’ are not, but believe me the disgruntlement is so intense, that I actually had to stop house visits halfway through the campaign for the council election. The situation out there has never been as serious as it is today, with people just not interested in the PN.”
Outgoing Birkirkara PN councillor but staunch activist Sergio Carbonaro insisted that “it is high time for the party leader and administration to decide to listen to us councillors who are amongst the electorate every day. It is atrocious to hear so many stories of fervent Nationalists boasting publicly that they actually voted for Labour, rather than not bothering to vote.
“I believe that the party must do something immediately to stop this haemorrhage and speak to us if not individually, or in groups. We have to let our voice be heard to relay the message of disgruntlement by the people.”
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