Nationalist Party deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Mario de Marco last Friday made a sweeping statement that is rather uncharacteristic of him. He is usually very cautious when speaking in public, often saying less than he should, and so his declaration that the PN was on the left of the Labour Party - in ideological terms - was unexpected.

It was also the wrong thing to say.

My guess - and it is the obvious one - is that he said it in an attempt to try to lure left-wingers towards the Nationalist Party, perhaps in a bid to narrow the gap which, at the last count, was 36,000 votes. My doubt - and it is a big one - is that his call will fall on deaf ears.

Those hearing him - he was speaking at the PN general council on Friday - must have been taken aback. No Nationalist wants to be on the left of Labour. After years of political fighting against all that the left represented, it was the last thing that they wanted to hear. Yet Mario de Marco said those words proudly, making them seem that an achievement has been reached, that the Nationalist Party had finally found its true soul.

Being on the left of the political spectrum is, on the other hand, something that should not make the PN proud. It is something that goes totally against the Nationalist Party's history. It is something that will push Nationalists away from the party. And, given that Socialists will never vote PN, Mario de Marco's declaration was more harmful than beneficial to his own party.

Nationalist Party supporters do not identify themselves with the left ideology. For them, the left means lazy people trying to live off the work of others. It means paying taxes to sustain those who want to spend the day in bed or playing cards in a bar while pocketing social benefits.

PN supporters understood, although they did not like it, that Nationalist governments of the recent past have tried to offer a hand of solidarity to the lower sectors of society - many of whom voted   Labour in spite of the freebies they were handed out. But hearing it spelt out black on white by none other than the deputy leader was something that jarred heavily.

On Sunday, party leader Simon Busuttil did the right thing not to refer to Mario de Marco's statement, although on the social media he was being urged to reply and clarify matters. Had he done so, it would have either appeared as a reprimand, or else an endorsement.

But the best thing for the Nationalist Party would be that this incident is forgotten as quickly as possible.

And that such a statement is never repeated.