If Simon Busuttil wants to be leader of the Nationalist Party again, he should follow the advice he gave the electorate during the campaign and stand up to be counted.
He should simply declare how he feels and say that he wants another go. He would be required to state what he has learnt from the past four years, particularly the last four weeks, and move ahead without hesitation.
The PN already has enough problems to be driven around in circles by Busuttil’s acolytes. He shouldn’t bicker now and then spend the next four years saying that it wasn’t his choice but that he was pushed into it.
The electorate wants a Leader of the Opposition who is clear and direct, who maps out his positions and avoids abstaining on important issues. Should he come to the ultimate conclusion, he needs to start by questioning those around him who got him to believe that they are always right, and that if the electorate voted against the PN, it is the electorate that is dumb, stupid or corrupt.
The next PN leader needs to find the party’s unique voice and stop repeating what others have to say. Some things are better left to be told by the media. When a party is willing to adopt anything as long as it attacks the other side, it simply relegating itself to a mouthpiece. This is not what people expect of a possible future prime minister. People expect leadership and cannot associate themselves with a leader who follows.
Busuttil knows very well that should he just stand up and declare his intentions to stay, people will start to question what lies beneath. For if Simon Busuttil had to be returned to the helm of the PN, one would legitimately ask: why not Beppe and Mario, Rosette and Ann too?
If by losing by 35,000 votes one gets to stay on, then why not get Paul Borg Olivier and Lawrence Gonzi back? They lost by that margin when in government with a rebellion going on in the back-bench and a fragile one-seat majority. They actually fared better because the 135,000 voters backed the whole of the PN in 2013, while this time round nearly 5,000 of those voters shifted to PD.
If Simon Busuttil has the resilience to go on and fight the second round of the battle, his electorate should be in the know, sooner rather than later. It seems that even Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is rallying for Busuttil to stay on.
The political fox threw out a lifesaver to his nemesis when he publicly declared that, notwithstanding the ‘negative campaign’ against him and his family, he would be ready to extend an olive branch to Busuttil to work together for the good of the nation.
Of course, Muscat wants Busuttil to remain PN leader, carrying the 35,000- vote deficit around his neck like an albatross, while he is priming not one, but two potential candidates to replace him in 2020.
Craftily, he has retained newly elected MP Robert Abela close to his side in the Cabinet, giving him the necessary training without the nuisance of a ministry, which could dent his outlook with voters come 2022.
In the meantime, he is keeping MEP Miriam Dalli on the back burner to offer a magnificent contest amongst prime talent within the PL when the time comes for him to enjoy the spoils of his perfectly planned fifteen-year stint in political life.
The scene and tone he is setting for the next election is to have a new PL leader free of any liabilities vs an embedded PN leader carrying two massive defeats on his shoulders.
Simon Busuttil gave so much effort and courage to an embattled party back in 2013. He left his comfortable surroundings to join a political party in turmoil. It was a very hard decision but one which he took. It is time for him to take another one. Whether he chooses to stand by his resignation or stand up to be counted again, Busuttil needs to rest his case as soon as possible, otherwise the opposition party will spiral into further inner turmoil.