Simon Busuttil has said that the Nationalist Party has not been dormant during the summer.

It is six months – nearly to the day – since it suffered the largest election defeat ever. It was shocked and ridiculed, and could not believe that it lost so much popularity.

For many weeks afterwards the party was in denial, almost blaming the people for making the wrong choice. “How could you have chosen Labour after all that we have done for you?” many PN officials seemed to ask every time they spoke in public. They did not say it in so many words, but in between the lines one could hear them say so very clearly.

Then it underwent the natural process of changing its leader, with Lawrence Gonzi calling it a day to make way for Simon Busuttil, who was quick to emphasise the idea of a team and elected to have two deputy leaders, rather than just one. It was a way to try to put the house in order and appease the different factions, and was not an ideal solution at all.

Several commissions were set up for this and that topic, perhaps to give the impression that all was well and that the party was back on track, or at least trying to find its feet. A report was compiled on what had led to the election defeat, and it produced the same answers the PN was being given before the electorate went to vote, only that the PN had been oblivious to what had been evident to all those who wanted to see.

The PN has not been dormant, the new leader said. But to my mind it has not been actually present either. Visiting localities celebrating the feast of their patron saint is not exactly the best way to keep in touch. Of course, summer is a slow time and, without a Parliament in session, the number of political issues is limited. This is more so especially during the first summer after an election. But it does not mean that the PN should have stayed out of the picture as much as it has.

As it happened, the PN left just Jason Azzopardi to tackle the issues that cropped up during the hotter weeks. He was the only one who was active in exposing the government’s shortcomings. Some may argue that he was only kept busy because his political counterpart, Home Affairs Minister Manwel Mallia, was in the news most of the time on various issues pertaining to his portfolio. This may be the case, but the PN should have offered more support to Dr Azzopardi on such delicate matters. For many days, it seemed that he was fighting a one-man battle.

It is only of late that the party has woken up and started giving the backing expected. Dr Azzopardi must be thanking whoever came up with the idea of starting Independence Day celebrations in early September, rather than midway through the month. It is only because of a pre-planned dialogue session at Marsascala that he received a helping hand.

But it was not only in the home affairs portfolio that matters needed to be addressed by the Opposition. For one thing, the situation with regard to medicines provided by the government has been going from bad to worse since day one, but the PN still has to issue a statement on the subject. And this is just one area where not everything is running smoothly.

In one of its rare statements since the election, the PN accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of carrying out a reshuffle just one month after appointing his Cabinet, when he moved Owen Bonnici under his wing instead of the Home Affairs Ministry. Soon afterwards, Simon Busuttil did the same thing within his own ranks, when he shifted the responsibilities of his spokesmen. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

In another rare moment, Simon Busuttil first attacked the operations of the security services, only to eat his words following a meeting he was invited to attend at Castille. More recently, the Opposition praised the agreement reached with Libya on oil purchases when international news reports speak of Libya not having enough oil for itself.

There is no doubt that the financial problems that have hit the party are worrying indeed. That its many workers were not paid for months and have now been told to forfeit their salaries to give the party a better cash flow are signs of desperation. That some of these workers have been or will be discharged is further proof of the party’s poor administration. That many of these employees feel abandoned by the party for which they worked hard is also symptomatic of an organisation in disarray, not to say heartless. What the previous Nationalist government did to the people in general – losing touch with their day-to-day realities – it is repeating, as a party, with its closest supporters.

Six months down the line, the Nationalist Party is proving to be a very weak Opposition. The government has already committed a series of blunders, but these shortcomings have not been highlighted by the PN, with the exception of Jason Azzopardi. As such, they have, by and large, gone by unnoticed, and it is a failure on the part of the PN that it did not manage to put pressure on the government to carry out its duties better.

It could be that, as from this week, we will see the PN with an improved presence in public and in the media, given that it is gearing up for Independence Day celebrations.

But, even here, the signs are not good. By deciding to hold its mass meeting on Independence Day – and not on the eve as was the case until last year – the party has sent the wrong message: that the event pertains only to the Nationalists.

Until last year, there was a distinction between the partisan celebrations the party held up to 20 September, and the national activities held on Independence Day. By having a partisan event on 21 September, the party has continued to add fuel to the fire of division.

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