August is usually a quiet period, from the political point of view, unless an election is due to be held in the months that follow. Many politicians take a break at this time of the year, like most of us do. Most of them go abroad, as this is the only way they could rest their mind – if they stay here, wherever they go they are sure to bump into people who want something from them. In spite of all that is said, there are still many people who think that politicians have the magic wand.

Political parties also tend to rest. Activities are down to a minimum, and this is understandable. Who would want to go and listen to a political speech on a Sunday morning when one could be relaxing at the beach? Even the diehards would admit that it is better to cool off in the sea rather than hear politicians talk in a hall with no air-conditioning.

But this period of rest does not mean that problems can be shelved or ignored. And, as such, the Nationalist Party is passing through one of its most delicate moments in recent history. One party source even told The Malta Independent on Sunday recently that it is the “party’s worst moment in 22 years”, that is since the PN returned to power in 1987 after 16 years of socialist administration.

This statement was made even before Victor Scerri resigned from the post of PN president. It was published on the 19 July issue, and Dr Scerri resigned two days later. The PN is still to fill in what is considered the fourth most important post, after that of the leader, deputy leader and secretary-general, and it does not seem that it is in a hurry to do so.

Dr Scerri resigned because of the controversy surrounding a development in Bahrija Valley. It was not the first hitch that the party has had to face since the election. The PN has had to deal with other problems within its administration, such as when secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier sent an email to his Labour counterpart by mistake.

The difficulties that the PN is challenged with as a party are running in parallel with problems it is facing as a government. The poor result obtained in the last European Parliament election confirmed the unpopularity of the government, and although more than two months have passed since then, it cannot be said that matters have improved.

As party insiders put it, while the PN is working on reforms such as that of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, and projects such as that of Valletta – ideas that will not win votes, but can lose some – the Labour Party is concentrating on bread and butter issues that are affecting people’s lives more than Mepa and the capital city. The PL’s holding of a conference on the cost of living is a case in point.

Dr Scerri has still to be replaced, and it is unlikely that a successor will be named before the party organises its Independence Day celebrations next month. It may be that his replacement will coincide with the Cabinet reshuffle that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi may be planning for later on this year, as TMIS reported last Sunday.

What is sure is that the PN – as a party and as a government – needs a major shake-up. Dr Gonzi is in for his biggest test. He managed to take his party to a third election win in a row, an unprecedented achievement in Maltese politics, but what he is tackling today is the most difficult obstacle he has had to surmount since he became leader five years ago.

Only time will tell whether he will succeed or not.