You’ve been leader of the Nationalist Party for almost three years. Do you really believe that you have control of the party?

Yes, definitely. The beginning was very difficult because the party had lost the election by a big margin, but since then we have made a lot of progress. Today I think we are on the right track and the most important thing is that we have a good team that is focused on our goals.

So how do you explain the leaks by the Labour Party of a number of PN documents and letters that you sent to your employees?

This means that we are an open party and we do not hide things. The majority of the time, lies are told and these leaks do not bother me at all.

Did you investigate to see where these leaks are coming from?

No, because I am not worried about them.

Joseph Muscat is still ahead of you in terms of personal popularity. Why?

That is because he started from the top and I started from the very bottom but the gap has narrowed considerably. I will continue to work until the gap that I originally started with has turned into an electoral advantage in favour of the PN and more trust in me.  

So this means that you will be winning the next general election, right?

The tide is turning. The situation for the PN has improved because the party knows what people want and it is giving a voice to what they are saying. On the other hand, the situation for the PL has changed because people realise that they were misled and the Labour Party is in the throes of a corruption crisis.

It seems to me that you have sidelined a number of ex-ministers who made their contribution to the country – people such as George Pullicino, Tonio Fenech and others. On the other hand, up to now we haven’t seen any star candidates that can replace them if you win the next general election. Aren’t you running the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water?

I think we already have a good team of candidates. Obviously we need to give a chance for new candidates to flourish and be able to show their abilities.

But in politics you do not have the luxury of being able to wait...

Yes, because if you take me as an example very few people knew who I was but today more and more people know who I am and what I am capable of doing. The party has a serious and transparent process for choosing the right candidates and this process is showing good results. We have already approved 55 candidates.

So this means that in the coming months you will announce candidates who are already known to the public?

Obviously, the closer we are to the election, the more prospective candidates will decide whether or not to stand. But we are not going to wait and in fact we are building a group of candidates of which we are proud.

So what you are saying is that we will not be seeing any former ministers in Simon Busuttil’s cabinet?

I will leave that decision in the hands of the people. They will decide who will represent them in Parliament and I will choose from that group.

A number of political observers say that the way the Labour Party in government is behaving gives the impression that it’s still in Opposition and the way the Nationalist Party in Opposition behaves gives the impression that it is still governing. Do you agree?

It’s not true. I act and work as the Leader of the Opposition. At first, your newspaper used to ask me if an Opposition existed in this country. This question is no longer asked and people have forgotten about it because we have an Opposition that is effective. The next step is for this Opposition, which is now standing on its own two feet, to show that it is not just here to oppose but is capable of being an alternative government that has its own ideas of how to run the country. This is the change we have started and the proposals that we are launching.

Do you think that the country is already in election mode?

I’ve been in election mode since I was appointed Leader of the PN.

So if it is another two years before the next election, how will you maintain the momentum? You might get out of breath…

Whenever it comes, I’ll be ready because when you are Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Party you need to campaign all the time so that you make sure your message is being heard. This is what I’ve been doing all along.

So let me get this straight: is the PN ready?

It would be presumptuous of me to say that we are completely ready. You are never ready per se, but what I am sure of is that the PN has changed, it has re-structured its organisation and is ready to mount a good challenge to the government and the Labour Party. A concrete example of what I mean is the way the PN has handled the Panamagate issue. It shows that this is an Opposition ready and able to deliver a clear and strong message.

Why should people out there vote for the Nationalist Party?

Because it will govern our country better. Our country cannot remain in this state of uncertainty. Our country is limping from one scandal to another and this situation is creating a lot of uncertainty.  The people deserve to have a government that gives them certainty and serenity, and people should not be waking up every morning thinking ‘Let’s see what the next scandal is going to be’. The public is already experiencing scandal fatigue.

 

So this means that you will be winning by default, not because you have new ideas and proposals that are better than those of the government?

The PN will win on its own merits. We will clean up the political system once and for all. I don’t want anyone to vote for me because Joseph Muscat made mistakes. I want people to vote for me because they feel they can trust me more than him, and I am working to show them that their trust in me will yield results. After three years of PL in government, what people are talking about is corruption. 

So corruption will be the main issue in the next general election?

No doubt. This could be the single issue campaign: ‘Clean Politics’.

But you are well aware – because you were the Deputy Leader at the last election – that corruption was an important factor in determining the result. Do you not think that the voters will say there is no difference between the PL and PN?

You are right and in fact one thing that I resent is what Joseph Muscat is doing. He is not only destroying himself but he is also destroying people’s trust in politicians, the political system and political parties. I don’t want to be associated with all this and the only reason I entered politics was to serve my country.

If you become Prime Minister, will you increase water and electricity charges to what they were before?

Bills should reflect the international price of oil. If today the price of oil went down you should make them cheaper. Today the bills are more expensive than they should be and this is what this government is doing.  Bills should reflect oil prices, and maybe this is the mistake that we made in the past. 

But has this government not reduced bills?

No, the government is misleading the people, because today the bills are higher than they should be. The 25 per cent reduction is nothing compared to the 75 per cent reduction in the price of oil. This does not only refer to the price of water and electricity but also to the price of petrol and diesel. In 2003, the international price for oil was the same as it is today, and we were paying the equivalent of €0.61 for a litre of diesel, whereas today we are paying €1.22 a litre – double the amount.

Will you keep childcare centres free of charge?

This was a proposal that I welcomed and it was also included in the 2013 PN manifesto. I would have preferred to see the PN implementing it. But even here we are being fooled. We have around 1,000 families that received a bill because they did not send their children when they were sick. Everyone knows that young children get sick easily. So this means that it is not free at all.

Can you promise that you will not send any bills for childcare?

Yes, I won’t send any bills. If it’s free, it means it will remain free.

You had said that with Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister the economy would go “gas down gol-hajt”. The opposite, in fact, has been the case since the economy has continued to grow. Were you mistaken?

A lot of things are said before elections, including what Joseph Muscat said in the past about the European Union. With regard to the economic aspect, this government inherited a very sound economy and it’s a good thing that it remained like this. But it is not enough. We need an economy from which people benefit, such as pensioners who are saying that what they are receiving is not enough and people on the minimum wage being unable to keep up with monthly expenses.

But according to the international credit rating agencies such as Standard and Poor’s and Fitch, our economy is doing well.

It’s not enough for our economy to do well. What we need to see is that the results that the economy is having are being distributed fairly among the people. Poverty has increased under Joseph Muscat and now we have 100,000 people at risk of poverty out of a population of four hundred thousand. We need an economy from which people can benefit and not Café Premier or Gafferena.

Another issue is unemployment: we currently have the lowest unemployment level ever.

Yes, it has fallen because thousands of people have been given a job with the government. The latest government scheme was to put 600 unemployed people on the minimum wage so that they will not show up in the unemployment register. So the government is playing with figures.

A few months ago you asked Dr Marthese Portelli to prepare a report on how traffic issues can be resolved. What happened? Why haven’t this been made public?

It is ready and the PN will be publishing it shortly

Can you give us a preview of what it says?

It’s better if you wait for it to be published. But one measure that we think should be introduced now is that the government should not subsidise school transport just for students who attend government schools but also for those who attend church and private schools. This measure would remove thousands of cars from the roads during the morning rush-hour. We suggested this idea to the government 18 months ago.

 

Have you consulted with the Party on your position regarding gay marriage or did you just decided to say what you thought because Joseph Muscat caught you unawares?

First of all, this was a classic diversion on the part of Joseph Muscat. When the Prime Minister is cornered, he tries to deflect public discussion. On the issue of gay marriage, I immediately reacted by saying that the law on civil unions is on a par with marriage, so this means that, according to the law itself, couples joined in a civil union have the same rights and responsibilities as those joined by a civil marriage. We will be discussing the subject within the Party, but what I said is a fact.

So let me get this straight. You still need to consult the Parliamentary Group and see if everyone agrees with your position?

I gave my views as Simon Busuttil and as the Leader of the PN and, obviously, because I reacted immediately I had no chance to go before the Party executive. However, as I do on every issue, I will be discussing the subject internally.

But there appears to be a contradiction. On the one hand, within an hour of the Prime Minister speaking about gay marriage, you gave your views, but on the other hand you took weeks to say what the PN’s views are on conversion therapy.

You are right to raise this point. The difference between the two is that, in the case of conversion therapy, there was draft legislation on a new issue that had to go before Parliament. In situations like these, I always discuss the subject internally and then come out with a position. In the case of gay marriage, however, the law is already in place.

So PN MPs like Beppe Fenech Adami, Jason Azzopardi, Tonio Fenech and Karm Mifsud Bonnici have the same views about gay marriage?

They have the opportunity to express their views when we speak about it internally.

Last November, Dr Joe Cassar resigned. He was the spokesman for culture. Four months have passed and you have still not replaced him. If, as you say, culture is so important, why have you not appointed anyone?

You are wrong. The Party has a Shadow Minister – Dr Jason Azzopardi. Jason is responsible for shadowing culture.

But let’s be honest, you’ve had a problem appointing someone. Why?

I don’t have a problem and at the moment Jason is the Shadow Minister for Culture.

Last Sunday you organised a national protest against corruption. Speaking concretely, what is your next move?

What needs to be done now is to fire Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. It is bad enough to have a company in Panama but it is even worse because they opened the company after they had accepted a public position. So what should happen next is that these two people take political responsibility and resign. Since this is a secret company, we can never know how much money there was or there is. We can never know if Konrad Mizzi  had nothing or €92 or €92 million. If the Prime Minister does not fire them, the obvious question is, why is he defending them? So at this stage the ball is in the Prime Minister’s court and I’m going to wait for the Prime Minister to do what everyone is expecting him to do.

So how long are you going to wait?

As long as it takes. At the end of the day, it is the public that will judge the Prime Minister.

If it transpires that any of your MPs has a trust overseas and/or a company in Panama, would you fire them?

I have already proved myself in the past because I have faced such situations. It was your newspaper that revealed the Swiss Leaks story and that two ex-PN ministers were involved. When I was informed, I immediately suspended them. To be precise, in Michael Falzon’s case he suspended himself and within an hour I accepted his suspension. But I went beyond this. When the Swiss leaks issue became public, I asked all my MPs to sign a declaration stating that they had no accounts in Switzerland or any other country, or trusts that are not listed in their declaration of assets. They all signed it, but if one of them is caught lying, he has to face political responsibility. These are my standards. This week, a PN local councillor in Ta’ Xbiex resigned because he used insulting language on Facebook in respect of Minister Mizzi.

Did he resign because you told him to or of his own free will?

He resigned because he knows what our standards are. A local councillor has given the best example to Minister Mizzi of how you should shoulder political responsibility.

 

Why was it Marlene Farrugia - and not the PN – who came up with the idea of presenting a motion of no confidence in Konrad Mizzi in Parliament?

Even we are considering this and we are not going to exclude anything.

We are seeing the PN becoming close to Marlene Farrugia. Do you not believe that this is not a tactic that will win you votes?

I see nothing wrong in speaking to Marlene Farrugia, who is an independent MP, in Parliament or outside it. Marlene is not part of the PN and I do not tell her what to do and vice versa.

But when she attended the Zonqor protest she was not an independent MP, she was still with the PL.

Because my invitation was open to everyone, she came and we welcomed her. Last Sunday she came again and, once again, we welcomed her.  

Days before the protest, you said that those who did not attend would be legitimising corruption. I don’t think this was fair. Why did you say it?

It was not my intension to attack them. My intention was to attract as many people as possible and they responded to my plea because thousands of people attended. I can assure you that I had no intention of attacking anyone and if I hurt someone, then I would like to apologise publically.

Yes or No:

If Marlene Farrugia wants to be part of the PN would you accept her?

I will discuss it.

Would you accept Michael Briguglio in the PN?

Yes.

If Franco Debono wanted to return to politics, would you accept him?

I think his chapter is closed.

If Giovanna Debono is cleared of all allegations, will you accept her back in the Party?

Yes.