The PN backbench is in revolt, and biding its time until it takes on “the inner core” they claim is detaching the party from voters and destroying the government’s credibility. By KARL STAGNO-NAVARRA
The scale of this revolt is unprecedented and has peaked this week following the news revealed last Sunday by MaltaToday about Marisa Micallef’s ‘defection’ to Labour.
Nationalist MPs expressed “disgust” at the way the party administration reacted to the news that the former Housing Authority chairperson and Gonzi supporter had joined Labour’s ranks, and are disassociating themselves from comments by PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier that Micallef was a “victim of the financial crisis.”
“I may not agree with her move but I’ll defend her right to make it without being subjected to personal attacks,” MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando told MaltaToday.
Sliema heavyweight Robert Arrigo insisted he does not consider Micallef’s move as a ‘defection’. “We are talking about a person’s right to work freely, within a democratic country. Crisis or no crisis, it’s a choice a person makes, and is to be respected,” he said.
Calling Micallef a “victim of the financial crisis” also drew ire from popular Floriana doctor Jean-Pierre Farrugia, who said the label was “unchristian small talk… obviously the PN secretary-general has not had the opportunity to work with her as I did and does not appreciate her social aptitude, let alone her strong personality.”
Former minister Jesmond Mugliett said Micallef was “a competent and professional person and her joining the PL does not change my opinion of her. I think it is wrong for the PN or any of its officials to attack the person,” he said.
However, beyond the controversial remarks made by Paul Borg Olivier and the doubts raised on whether the comment was actually his or prepared in writing by somebody else, Marisa Micallef has caused an earthquake, with MPs and activists alike pointing their fingers towards the PN administration for “living in denial”.
Signs of a crisis Instead of ignoring the political move, Nationalist MPs are putting their foot down to remind the party administration that Micallef is “more than just a nobody” but representative of the widespread disgruntlement among the traditional PN voter.
“She was one of Gonzi’s closest collaborators for some years and was given a post which carried a great amount of responsibility by him,” Pullicino Orlando said. Robert Arrigo described it this way: “Her weight is the same as any other voter who changed his party in silence.”
Former minister Francis Zammit Dimech said he would give “due weight to Marisa Micallef as a person who represents the liberal dimension within the PN. We need to make sure those persons still feel they can comfortably belong to the party that by far still represents their ideals and interests better than the PL.”
He added that Micallef’s move “should trigger a red light to understand better why the PN is not reaching out as effectively as desired to all those who should be supporting the party.”
Zebbug architect and newly-elected MP Philip Mifsud admitted it was a “goal scored by the PL,” insisting it would be a “mistake” for the PN if it ignores such a move. “If we want to win the next general election we cannot afford to lose any of our potential voters, even more so our exponents.”
The majority of PN backbenchers insist that the forthcoming parliamentary group meeting “must” discuss the Marisa Micallef factor – at least as the face of a shift of voters to Labour.
Robert Arrigo stressed that “implications of such moves mean a loss in the next election, unless we wake up to reality. It should mean a lot to the PN. Something happened but none more important than the MEP election result. The floating voter has spoken and this is a confirmation.”
Pullicino Orlando shares the same opinion, but goes a step further by insisting that the PN should definitely not tackle the Marisa Micallef issue with attacks. “Definitely not by attacking those who are disillusioned by the present administration. That is reminiscent of what the Labour Party used to do in the eighties and which led it to condemn itself to the Opposition benches for years on end. Many people out there are probably empathising with Ms Micallef. The siege mentality adopted by certain elements in government is exasperating and is leading to the alienation of more and more activists. These elements seem to have made ‘min mhux magħna hu kontra tagħna’ their rallying cry, and this is reminiscent of mintoffianism at its worst,” he said.
Calling Micallef a “diehard Nationalist”, Pullicino Orlando said that when disillusionment spreads to core supporters “you’re quite deep in the proverbial muck, and some seem to be living in denial.”
But MP Beppe Fenech Adami, son of former leader Eddie, says Micallef’s move is “to be interpreted as one of convenience, with an employment package definitely desired by a number of Labour supporters… the message from Micallef to floating voters is that they should take up any offer to switch party when it comes with a €40,000-a-year bonanza.”
Credibility issues Certain MPs note the difference in Labour’s new leader to his predecessor. “Joseph Muscat has been concentrating on strengthening his party. He has shown he has guts by the way he dealt with Jason Micallef,” Pullicino Orlando said, while Robert Arrigo explains that the PN is “certainly faced with a new Labour idea. It would be grossly mistaken to liken Joseph Muscat to his predecessor.”
But MPs now have to brave the storm in which they must toe the party line during “difficult time”. They talk of the economic recession and the bleak prospects for growth next year, and now hope for a “realistic budget” – one that could boost the economy but also leave more money in people’s pockets without burdening over-stretched employers.
Pullicino Orlando said “government should reconsider its priorities when it comes to capital expenditure at this particular point in time” – without mentioning examples such as the €80 million Renzo Piano project for the regeneration of Valletta’s city gate.
Smart City, and the recent resignation of its CEO Claudio Grech turns out to be a preoccupying element for the PN parliamentary group. Robert Arrigo says he is worried that it could mean “loss of jobs, as we asked students to study IT”.
Pullicino Orlando insists that “people are owed an explanation and cards are put on the table.”
While former minister Ninu Zammit and MP Philip Mifsud commented that they are “not informed” on what is happening at Smart City, Francis Zammit Dimech says that he is worried too, but adds that he has “no reason” to doubt the assurances given by Minister Austin Gatt that the project is “still moving ahead.”
But Jesmond Mugliett goes a step further by reminding that Smart City was a project much trumpeted before the election. “Given that the project was so high profile, that it is being developed on a government concession, that there were commitments by the developers for deliverables in the short run, that government has invested its own resources to complement the project, the public deserves a clear statement on what is happening, in particular on the deliverables and deadlines emanating from the project,” Mugliett said.
Problems ahead Marisa Micallef’s move may have uncovered the bubbling pot of discontentment, but MPs have a long list of issues that led them to blow their top, the most recent being the pending Labour motion on the Delimara Power Station contract.
Nationalist MPs are smelling a rat and have warned the Prime Minister they will not vote in favour of government unless they are certain that the €200 million contract was fairly awarded to Danish company BWSC.
Since the humiliating defeat in last June’s elections, the PN experienced a continuous freefall in support, and coldness in loyalty towards its leader Lawrence Gonzi. In some PN clubs his pictures are being turned over and made to face the wall, while known activists openly badmouth him.
In one parliamentary group meeting, former parliamentary secretary Edwin Vassallo spelt out the situation by telling the Prime Minister he felt he was part of the “most hated” group of men on the island.
Despite the mood, Beppe Fenech Adami says it is early to talk of a reshuffle. “That’s the PM’s prerogative. If I were PM today I would not do a reshuffle at this moment in time.”
And in a nod to the glory days under the leadership of Eddie Fenech Adami, former minister Ninu Zammit told MaltaToday that the PN “must never forget the people that built it and defended it, and in turn, be of service to the nation, as it used to preach at the Stamperija during the 1970s and the 1980s.”
The hairline fracture inside the PN now risks developing into something even more serious. The Stamperija headquarters in Pietà – redone, rebuilt, repackaged and new – is to some no longer the same symbol of resistance it had in the past. Claims that ‘the Gonzi boys’ run the place, and that the leadership appears distant, seem to be all part of this new redimensioning of the PN. Now that Labour builds its support anew with its new leader, it looks like the ignited fuse inside the PN could possibly lead to a search for a new leader-in-waiting.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
