The PN’s recently elected secretary general Rosette Thake speaks to Jacob Borg about what the PN stands for, people’s disillusionment with politics and the plans for the general election

What does the PN stand for in this day and age?

Honest politics. That is the alternative that the Nationalist Party is offering to this government. A government that has been mired in scandals, that is clearly above considering very basic concepts of transparency and accountability. This is very clear from the scandals that have come to the fore, especially this summer.

The vision of Dr Simon Busuttil, our leader, is that the PN must offer an honest way of doing politics. The reality is that people are losing faith in politicians and politics in general, and that is terrible. It is terrible for democracy as well, to erode people’s faith in their elected representatives is terrible.

We are lucky that people in Malta are very engaged in politics, and this can be seen from the high turnout in elections. But that people lose faith in their elected politicians is really terrible.

But surely you are not saying this erosion took place over the past two years of this government?

There is an element of people in general being disillusioned with politics, but I have to say the feeling we get is that over the past two years, especially with what has been going on over the past few months, people are losing faith.

This is because people believed the idea of a different way of governing, and are now feeling deceived.

So in a way you are selling exactly what Labour was selling before the general election?

Well, they did sell it that way didn’t they, and people are disappointed now because that is not what is happening. The Labour Party won the election on that call, that they would be doing things differently. I think people are starting to realise however the PN and PL are different, and the way they do things is different.

Even when something happens which should not be happening, the Labour Party is shameless about it. There is not a single shred of shame demonstrated.

The standards adhered to by the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party are very different.

If people have already been deceived once on this front, why should people believe the Nationalist Party will be any different?

Well, because, the Nationalist Party as Dr Busuttil has said will start making concrete proposals. We are half way through a legislature. The Nationalist Party has spent the last two years rebuilding itself from the foundations up, and a lot of work has gone into the party, by the leadership, by all the officials, by my predecessor Dr Chris Said, and now continued by myself.

That was very important. Now we have to shift gear to also put forward proposals. Dr Busuttil has already indicated there will be a package relating to good governance. We are as a party not just being an effective in Parliament, but we will be putting forward proposals. We will be held accountable to the proposals that we make as a party. That is the different.

But good governance is quite, in a sense...

...There will be more, on the economy, on education, on culture. There will be more. Good governance is the first one in the series.

So what is the plan, when will you start ramping up and actually coming out with proposals?

Dr Busuttil has said before the end of the year he will publish the package on good governance. That work is ongoing, and he will do it.

The party seems to be very reactive at the moment. You’ve got the latest issue, embryo freezing, the PN has yet to pronounce its stance on the matter.

But the party has pronounced itself. It had a law that it enacted when it was in government. Right now that is what the party’s proposal is. What is Joseph Muscat proposing? Do we know? No we don’t. When we know, we can react. Until then our position is the law which we enacted and which gave good results.

When we know what the government is proposing we make our own proposals.

On the very basic level embryo freezing appears to be on the cards according to the Prime Minister’s statements. Is this something that the party agrees with or not?

On the very basic level, there was already an instance in the law that was in enacted, where there was a proviso where in extreme circumstances – should there be a case of sperm and egg that are fertilised – and should for example the mother die – then obviously it is contemplated that there would have to be an embryo frozen. But that is in exceptional circumstances, as the law stands now it is not allowed, and that will be something to look at.

You mentioned your predecessor Chris Said before. He always maintained quite a high media profile, you have been  working more behind the scenes. What has been going on behind the scenes, what have you been doing?

I’ve been here now for three months. I’ve been taking stock, I’ve been asking questions. I’ve been finding thing out. I’ve been working on the party structures mainly. Don’t forget that Dr Chris Said was also an MP, so the public profile also comes from there. I’m a newcomer and I got to work immediately on the party structures.

There’s a lot that is happening there, in terms of strengthening them, in terms of changes that are happening in our media, that is mainly my work. I don’t make it by modus operandi to be in the limelight, it is not my style. I prefer to take a backseat in terms of public appearances and work internally.

Will you be contesting the next general election?

No. That is absolutely not on the cards. I declared that straight away and I firmly believe the secretary general should not contest the general election. My job is to manage the campaign for the party, not for myself.

Do you feel the party is getting its message across?

I think the party is being more effective in getting its message across. Clearly we still have more work to do. That is why work is ongoing with regards to the media and Party structures. The message is not transmitted solely through the media, but also through the party activities who are the live ambassadors of the party, and that is where we are doing a lot of work.

Clearly, these are works in progress but we are gearing up to make sure we do have an effective communication machine.

Some people have criticised the NET HD project as being frivolous given the party’s past financial difficulties. Why has the party gone for this?

It is not an option but a necessity, because our equipment is very old. Most of the equipment has been here since day one. The change has to be in the context of the current technological options, but it’s a must.

The risk otherwise is that the party will not have a television medium to use for its communication. At this point it is not a luxury, but a necessity. An investment the company must make to continue having a television station.

Are you confident the necessary finances will be in place for the general election to run a campaign comparable to that of the Labour Party?

We are gearing up for that. Clearly this investment is very important, also because we are increasingly finding out that the government is increasingly using state machinery – be it DOI or TVM to attack the Opposition and the party’s spokespersons. Therefore, having a strong television station and media outlets is very important. People deserve to hear the truth. People deserve to hear our message.

Yes, we are working hard to make sure that there is financial sustainability. We have plans and I’m confident that we will make it. Obviously the power of incumbency is what it is, and we are up against a government with all of its resources.

Would a PN government take a more hands off approach when it comes to PBS?

I think if we are criticising the government of having turned PBS into another Super One, then we would be very hypocritical to maintain this status-quo.

What would you peg as being the government’s greatest success since the general election?

... mmm... I have to think about that. Well, I think the government has managed to maintain a certain rhythm based on the successes, especially in the economic area, of the previous government and therefore that momentum was there and pretty much going okay.

However there have been decisions taken such as increasing the size of the civil service that are now starting to be indicators that maybe all will not be okay.

Even if until now the picture is not too bad, the indicators are there and a clear watch has to be maintained on that sector.

Successes? I’m afraid the failures are far greater than the successes. Health, traffic, these are things that affect people’s everyday lives.

It make a difference to people not spending hours in a hospital, and if that is because the government is not enforcing regulations such as referrals as we saw from the report published recently, or if you are spending hours in traffic, which has an economic impact as well.

I’m afraid I see far more failures than successes unfortunately.

So what is the PN proposing to do about these issues?

Right now we are not in a position to be making proposals, we are not in government, we do not have the means at our disposal to enact the changes.

But what about your vision, for when you are in government?

That is being developed. As I said, right now we are working on the good governance package. There is also work being done on other sectors such as the economy, culture and education. That is work in progress. Our policy fora are working hard and we have to allow them to come to certain positions freely without pre-empting.