It was heartbreaking seeing Lawrence Gonzi, former Prime Minister and Leader of the Nationalist Party go during the same General Conference in which Simon Busuttil was elected leader of the Party.

Some party councilors could not hide the tears rolling down their faces; Others clapped with such enthusiasm and vigour that their hands must have ached the next day. Councilors with strong solid voices shouted “Gonzi – Gonzi”, encouraging the rest to join in the loud chorus. Standing enthusiastically, councilors rushed and stretched their arms to the limit for a hand shake with Dr Gonzi while he was slowly and with great difficulty making his way in, accompanied by his wife, through the aisle of the assembly hall towards the main stage. Party security personnel had to escort and assist him in his last short walk as leader of the party. Emotions ran high. It was electrifying. Councilors thanked and waved goodbye to Dr Gonzi with heavy hearts.

Party councilors welcomed Dr Gonzi triumphantly because, in their heart of hearts, they credit him for steering the islands well in troubled economic and financial waters, notwithstanding the fact that his hands were firmly tied due to internal jockeying and political strife.

Many are aware that under Dr Gonzi the economy was not ailing and therefore most of the spin-offs leading to a good quality of life were neither failing nor falling apart. The recent publication of the report by the International Monetary Fund is testimony to this.

It may be hard to fathom, with hand on heart, the true underlying causes which led to the result of the last general election. What Malta went through prior to the 1987 general election when the Nationalist Party, with a slim margin, won that election and the heavy defeat suffered by the Nationalists earlier this year is beyond any comparison. This scenario needs to objectively reviewed.

In many sectors, the improvements achieved are beyond the imagination of many, not least of the younger generation who cannot really grasp the feeling of the difficult times my generation went through during the sixteen years of Labour administration prior to 1987. If one can draw a parallel this is similar to when seventy year olds and older talk about their experience during the Second World War. One cannot really appreciate the difficulties and hard times they went through. True, very much so, one cannot erase the past but promising and inspiring people about the future is more appealing and stimulating.

Going back to the general conference, the cherry on the cake was the short speech by Dr Gonzi. During his speech he was many times interrupted with loud rounds of applause. His last speech was full of significant and meaningful advice. He encouraged councilors and the new party leader Dr Busuttil, to strive to win back the much needed confidence and credibility which the party needs to regain from the electorate.

During the conference it was touching to see Dr Busuttil’s family there, pleased with his achievement, supporting him on his first day as party leader which, God willing, should also see him becoming Prime Minister of Malta when the time is ripe. As his predecessors had done, he delivered a speech which should be recognised as his hallmark. Both Eddie Fenech Adami and later Dr Gonzi put great emphasis on their first speech when they were elected party leaders. Both these first speeches had captured the imagination of the party councilors and the rank and file. Dr Busuttil delivered a speech which indicated clearly the way forward. The party should become a broad-based organization where genuine people can contribute, without expecting anything in return, for the good of the party and these small islands. The PN Headquarters and Party clubs across Malta and Gozo should become hubs of political activity where people with different capabilities, skills and professions come together and contribute towards the updating of party policies that reflect better the needs of our evolving society.

It is worth noting that the visible willingness and eagerness from people to commit themselves to regenerate and reorganize the party is growing. These genuine people together with the new leadership of the party must pledge and strive to promote collegiality. This brings me to the need to look into the party statute which should be revised to ensure that the structures serve their purpose properly, both when the party is in Opposition but more importantly when the party is called to govern. In my opinion the later would be the real test of a good and efficient statute for the Party. Collegiality is without a shadow of doubt an important value. Anybody forming part of the new team should be held accountable for his/her actions and should not be allowed to put in jeopardy the organization objective - the improvement to the quality of life. The statute of the party should clearly provide for the necessary tool to protect collegiality. Anyone not willing to play by the rules should desist now.

I take this opportunity to thank Lawrence Gonzi for his sterling work towards making Malta and Gozo what they are today and auger Simon Busuttil in his new endeavor for the benefit of the party and these Islands.

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