In most countries, political leaders leave a legacy behind. Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Helmut Kohl and Ronald Raegan all left immense legacies behind them. They all changed their parties and transformed their countries.
Last week, just prior to the election of the MLP new leader, Alfred Sant resigned from Opposition Leader, a position he held, except for the 22-month stint in 1996-1998, since 1992, a good 16 years. What’s his legacy and where would his place in history be? For sure he would go down in history as the leader who said “no” to the EU, called his predecessor Dom Mintoff a “traitor” and lost three general elections and a referendum in a short span of time. He holds a lot of grudges against numerous persons, mostly within Labour itself.
Should we say that Malta was very lucky that he was Prime Minister for 22 months only? His own political party shattered under his rule, and we can’t even imagine what would have happened to Malta, had we given him the slightest chance to manage the Maltese economy.
The Maltese were never impressed by the empty slogans. Surely one of his legacies was his ability to create pseudo policies out of mere slogans – Switzerland in the Mediterranean, partnership, good governance, new beginning, barons, friends of friends, cliques. We now know that these slogans never meant anything. They were just slogans, which were repeated ad nauseam, in order for the people to start repeating them and start to think that these pseudo policies exist.
Now we are all wondering whether he has really left the local political scene. We all suspect that he has symbolically stepped out of the limelight and together with the party machinery pushed the delegates into choosing his anointed one. His obsession will never allow him to let go, and as a kingmaker, will still be in a position to press on his failed policies that the electorate has rejected over and over again.
It’s a matter of time before he claims back the favour for helping the anointment of the new leader. We have already lived this experience between early 1980s and 1992. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was officially the leader of the Labour Party, but we all know who was calling the shots behind the scenes. History repeats itself.
On the other hand, the Nationalist Party delegates have always shown the ability to elect strong personalities and visionary politicians at the helm of the party. The PN leaders proved themselves and showed enormous ability to transform the party. The PN today is different from the one we knew in the 1980s, which was again different from the party in the 1960s and 1970s.
Today the PN should not rest on its laurels and become complacent, even though there is no real alternative at the moment. We all know that empty slogans and numerous buzzwords do not deliver any results. Results require a real structure, and that’s why it is fundamental for the Nationalist Party to keep evolving and to keep on re inventing itself.
This does not mean that we change our principles and beliefs. We need to adapt to today’s realities and to the Maltese society that the various PN governments have successfully built.
The time is now ripe for substantive reorganisation. The party structures might need to change. New internal committees and structures need to be set up. The party structures should create space for new policies, ideas and even candidates. We are not in politics to create empty slogans. We can leave that task to others. We are there to come out with real tangible policies, solutions and new initiatives.
The media out there is evolving at a very fast rate that up to a few years ago was not even remotely possible. Communication techniques are changing; the electorate is changing. The Nationalist Party has contributed immensely to the evolution of the Maltese economy, and inherently our quality of life. The Maltese expectations are much higher now, than they were 20 years ago, and rightly so.
The party needs to do its utmost not to fall victim of its own success. PN governments have delivered in the past, and continued to build up on their achievements, and therefore expectations from the PN are constantly much higher than those from the Labour party. It has to transform itself and remain up to the electorate’s expectations.
On a personal note, I would like to thank Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, the Nationalist Party and the parliamentary group for my appointment as the PN parliamentary group whip. It heartens me, and I’ll do my best to perform my duties with utmost diligence and effectiveness. This will be a challenging task, considering the government side enjoys a one-seat majority and the opposition has not agreed to a pairing agreement so far, but I will fully commit to this task.
One final note. Ten years ago the Nationalist Party embarked on the project of setting up NET TV. I feel emotionally attached to this anniversary. I remember the excitement during those hectic days. Ten years have passed and the station has evolved into our beloved asset. It has become part of us. I would like to share this moment with all the colleagues who participated in this project, who contributed to make NET TV a success, to all the viewers and to the Nationalist Party supporters who contributed financially to make this dream come true. It’s a great legacy.
David Agius
Nationalist Party’s Government Whip and Group Secretary