One government failure after another is not resulting in the Nationalist Party gaining any ground. Whatever mishap, lack of foresight, individual or collective mistake, and full-blown scandal that the Labour Party is involved in is not denting Labour’s armour while the PN barely makes noise.

To make matters even worse, news keeps coming in that Nationalist diehards are abandoning the cause, some to join Labour, others to simply distance themselves from the party they grew up in, loved and worked for.

What is wrong with the Nationalist Party?

Try as it might, its message is not getting across. Whatever its leader, MPs and other exponents say, it is not hitting the right chord. The issues the PN has taken to heart and on which, it must be said, it is in the right – such as the forced resignation of a minister and, more recently, the cost of fuel and the Cafe Premier disgrace – did not rock the government’s foundations as the PN expected.

The PN did not even make inroads when it took a strong stand against two of its former ministers who have admitted to having held two secret bank accounts in Switzerland – while the Prime Minister came out in their defence.

It’s clear that, as party leader, Simon Busuttil is not as appreciated, respected and adored as much as he was when he was a Member of the European Parliament, both by the people close to him and by the public in general. The bad decisions he has taken, including the PN’s stand on the gay marriage bill, have stood out much more than his good ones.

The decision to stop Sunday activities held by the party has backfired big time, as this has meant a cut in media presence. The attempt to have a short interview carried out by a journalist from the party’s media house is not getting the desired effect. As from Sunday, with the campaign for the local council elections to start, things might change.

To be fair, the PN is holding press conferences and issuing statements every day – many times more than one – but their effectiveness is very much in doubt. For example, for a month or so we had countless media events in which the PN spoke about the price of fuel, but by the second one they were already repetitive and left little impact.

It is evident that from the marketing point of view the PN needs a total revamp. The way things are at the moment, metaphorically speaking people are saying thank you to Labour when they receive a bill while at the same time refusing gifts from the Nationalist Party.

But, apart from image and credibility issues, there are other matters that are weighing the PN down. For one thing, Simon Busuttil is not getting enough support from the two deputy leaders and the secretary general. Motivation is lacking – mainly because of past defeats and future aspirations, if you get the drift – and the PN therefore lacks a united front in its highest hierarchical spots.

Further down the rankings, it is evident that the recent reshuffle of the portfolios has hurt the experienced politicians who have felt they were being pushed aside, while at the same time the newcomers are short of experience and, most of all, personality.

Add to this the unhappiness that persists at the Dar Centrali because of the way matters are being administered – and this includes, most of all, the political direction the party is taking. That valid people have dropped out of the local council campaign because of differences with the secretary general makes it clear that they are not happy with his style, and probably more than just style.

It can be said that the party is still recovering from its largest thumping in history which was followed up by an equally negative result (in terms of votes) in the European Parliament election a year later. But two years down the line there are no signs that things are moving.

And it does not appear likely that things will change for the better anytime soon for Simon Busuttil. With people in the same boat with him rowing against him he cannot be expected to perform miracles.