Dead in the water is one of a number of expressions that can be used to describe the situation the Nationalist Party currently finds itself in.
Six months after a new leader was elected, the party is not functioning as a strong Opposition should be.
Up until a few months ago the Opposition was calling up to three press conferences a day, going to court with ‘evidence’ of corruption and organizing protests about maladministration and the destruction of the environment.
Today, the PN is going slow, with even the simple press conference becoming something of a rarity.
There were slight signs of recovery yesterday when the party called a press conference in front of the gates of Mount Carmel Hospital, but apart from that, the PN has been largely dormant as of late.
One would have expected that after the recent shadow cabinet reshuffle, the newly appointed spokespersons would have hit the ground running and started speaking up about issues that matter. But this has simply not happened.
We cannot understand, for example, why it is taking the PN so long to take a stand on the upcoming extension of the controversial Individual Investor Programme (IIP).
The government announced the extension more than four weeks ago but the PN has yet to take a position on the matter. Pressed by this newspaper, the party keeps insisting that the issue is still under discussion.
The PN had attacked the IIP fiercely during the last administration, but in the run up to the last general election it had made a u-turn, with former leader Simon Busuttil saying he would keep the IIP but reform it to reflect the investor programme it is meant to be.
Thus it would be good to know what the PN thinks of the programme now – whether its stance on the IIP has changed again. We are interested to see whether the party will choose the path of consistency or the path of political convenience.
The IIP is not the only issue the PN is failing to speak about.
We have to ask: what does the PN think about the shocking cases of poverty that are being exposed on an almost daily basis?
Where does it stand on the looming destruction of virgin land at Bulebel. Will it not organize protests, like it did when Zonqor Point was being threatened?
Why is it not speaking up more on the Vitals-Steward deal?
What about the mushrooming petrol stations and high rise?
And what about the shameful direct orders, running into the millions, that were revealed in Parliament over the past couple of weeks.
We have heard isolated speeches by some PN MPs on some of the above mentioned issues, and there were also some private initiatives, in the form of Private Member’s Bills, but the PN as a party has been largely silent on many issues.
Adrian Delia finally faced the press yesterday, after weeks of taking part in activities for which the rest of the media houses were not invited. One was beginning to ask whether this was being done intentionally – to shield Delia from prying questions.
The media is an important pillar of democracy, but alone it is not enough to fight against corruption and the destruction of our environment.
The country needs and deserves an active and vocal Opposition. Unfortunately, the PN is at this time not fulfilling that role.