Marthese Portelli has been re-elected president of the Nationalist Party Executive Committee for a second two-year term, winning double the number of votes she received when she was first elected. It is a vote of confidence that she relishes as she seeks to further her relatively short career in politics – one in which she found herself quite unexpectedly on the eve of the last general election.

She said that although she was always interested in politics and current affairs, she never really thought that one day she would become directly involved. But a presentation she made as a lawyer – law is, after all, her profession – must have struck a chord with some of the participants and she was “handpicked” to contest the 2008 election on behalf of the Nationalist Party.

“Some of the people present must have liked my presentation. I remember one of the comments: ‘clear, sharp, precise and straight to the point’,” she said.

That was in October 2007, just five months before the poll was eventually held the following March, but Dr Portelli, as she has done all her life, took the matter seriously and immediately embarked on a campaign that gave her a result that was better than she ever expected.

She polled 1,103 first count votes – a creditable result in a difficult district like Gozo and one that other first-timers can only dream of. Many other candidates who contest for the first time barely manage to obtain a couple of hundred votes, while others who slowly build their way upwards through local councils and other committees such as football and band clubs hardly ever do better in their first attempt in a national poll.

Dr Portelli was the last candidate on the PN ticket to be eliminated in that election and this gave her the courage to pursue a career in politics without compromising her duties as business development executive and legal department manager with a company that has, she said, been very supportive in her endeavours, and her responsibilities as a wife and mother.

She has been working with the same company for eight years, quickly moving up the ranking ladder from junior lawyer to operations manager to project manager and now to her current position.

She could not have accomplished so much without the flexible working conditions that the company offers all its workers. “When I had my son four years ago, I resumed my duties soon after giving birth,” she said. “I could do so because of the flexible working conditions we have. I could continue working from home, for example, and when I needed to be at work I was given an office where I could breastfeed my child in all the privacy I needed. Part of the cost of employing a nanny was also paid by the company.”

This flexibility was handy when Dr Portelli was asked by the Nationalist Party to contest the 2008 election. “I had previously been out of political circles. I had never been a member of a political committee and I had nothing prepared to enter the political fray. So I had to start from scratch. At the time, I was even moving house, which complicated matters even further.”

The fact that she was running in a district – Gozo – that is physically separated from the mainland was an added obstacle. Dr Portelli, a Gozitan by birth, had years before moved to Malta because of her work, and yet had to promote herself on the sister island, something that obliged her to temporarily return to Gozo for the run up to the election.

“It was not a sacrifice. I live in Malta because of the nature of my work, but I always enjoy the Gozitan life. And, frankly, I believe that my experience in Malta gives me the cutting edge when I analyse what is going on. I can easily compare Malta and Gozo – having lived and still living in both realities. And this gives greater credibility to my opinions and contributions during discussions at a political level.”

Her work did not go unnoticed, and the 1,103 votes she obtained was a remarkable feat for a first-time candidate. She was later asked by the PN to contest the European Parliament elections.

“It was another big challenge. I knew my chances were limited, but I obtained a satisfactory result, much better than I expected.”

Dr Portelli obtained 5,245 first count votes, the fourth highest of the 10 PN candidates, and just 1,300 less than David Casa, who had served as an MEP for five years. She did better than more seasoned politicians, and this encouraged her further.

When I asked her whether she would prefer to work in the European Parliament or the Maltese House of Representatives, Dr Portelli said the two had different roles, as the EP passed laws that were implemented elsewhere, whereas the Maltese Parliament passed laws that are enacted locally.

Given the choice, she would prefer to work locally, because this gave her the chance to be in continuous close contact with her constituents. “I believe in face-to-face personal contact; it’s the biggest tool that a politician can have.”

I remarked on the extra difficulties she has in contesting in Gozo, when she lives in Birkirkara, and asked her whether she would consider contesting another election district, apart from Gozo.

“Gozo will still remain my home and my base,” she said. “There are many other candidates who contest on two districts, but their main focus will be on one. I will always focus on Gozo. Obviously, it will be harder for a candidate to contest in Gozo and elsewhere, because so much travelling time would be involved, and – thinking aloud – I don’t think it would be feasible. But if the party were to ask me to contest another district, I would consider the situation.

“I have already broken the trend. Normally, candidates who contest in Gozo live there all the time. I live in Malta, but this does not mean that I have lost touch with my roots. I take special interest in what goes on in Gozo and people can come to see me in my office in Victoria, which is open every Saturday, and on other days of the week if necessary.”

Do you think that the eco-Gozo concept is working, I asked. It is, she said, but adds that there is still so much that can be done.

“For example, let’s mention health tourism. Does it make sense to promote this niche in both Malta and Gozo? I say no, as we would simply be splitting revenues. So let’s keep this niche exclusively for Gozo, together with other niches that could be identified.

“There are situations when Gozo has to compete with Malta. And it’s obvious that, for logistical reasons, people prefer Malta if they are given the choice. If certain areas, such as health tourism, were Gozo’s prerogative then there is a better chance for the idea to succeed,” she said.

What remains sacrosanct for Dr Portelli is the creation of more jobs on the sister island. “And I am not only referring to professionals and skilled workers. The Nationalist government has worked hard to open up more opportunities for Gozitans, but there is always more that can be done.”

Two subjects close to her heart are education and the family. She believes that great strides forward have been made in the past 20 years to improve the education sector, and one particular move she has fully endorsed is the reopening of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology.

“This effectively replaced trade schools. Now imagine a 45-year-old man who studied at a trade school, and who has a son who is at MCAST. The difference this man sees between his time and his son’s education is enormous. This is what the PN has worked for. We are a nation that relies on its human resources, and we must offer each and every person the chance to succeed. MCAST has filled a gap that would have otherwise meant so much wastage of human resources.

“Successive PN governments have always considered the family as the fulcrum of society, and all decisions have been taken with the family as the main focus. Strong families mean a strong society.”

[email protected]