Do not get alarmed; this is just a hypothetical question:   Would you still board a cruise liner if, at the eleventh hour, your attention is drawn to the fact that the captain in charge of the vessel you are about to board is not fully-qualified or lacks the necessary training?   I am confident, that for your own safety and that of your dependants, you would vehemently refuse to board the ship.  The vessel, large and luxurious as it may be, is destined for disaster sooner or later. 

Perhaps even sooner rather than later, despite what one may wish to think.   

This brings to that penned by Dr Marlene Farrugia on the Partit Demokratiku Facebook page and reproduced on this web-portal last Saturday.  The post attracted a good number of ‘for’ and ‘against’ comments, and more than 300 ‘likes’ by late Sunday evening.   Dr Farrugia appealed to the Nationalist Party to suspend the leadership race.  I share her views, though this statement should have been made prior to the firing of the starter pistol.  That I agree is certainly not out of disrespect for the four gentlemen, as all have political acumen and loads of good intentions.   And it’s not for the reasons cited by Dr Farrugia, because widening the vote to party members is already entrenched in the new PN statute.  I concur on the basis that PN members should not be rushed to elect a new leader. 

Such a position requires special attention.

Electing political trainees to a senior post may be appealing, but the results can be appalling.  PN members may think that electing a person with no training or experience in politics is the way forward.  Indeed, the lack of both may be perceived by many PN members as an added value.      Admittedly, professional experience in politics is no guarantee of an effective performance, but a lack of it should not be a desirable criterion.  So then, what does professionalism in politics require?  Arguably, here are a few elements of competence for the would-be PN leader.  

A new PN leader should be able to think and act strategically, domestically, within the EU and in other international institutions. This demands the capability to understand political systems and their inter-relationships.  This requires a thirst for knowledge in a fast-changing world, and the ability to handle cognitive complexity, the skill to take short-term actions, the capacity to think long-term, and move toward strategic goals.

The PN leader must know how to use power to build coalitions with the social partners and other non-governmental organisations, particularly on socio-economic issues. A leader must listen, compromise, devise political strategy, and marshal support.  The party leader should be able to lead a complex bureaucracy.  This requires an understanding of how large organisations work, what leads to failure and success, and how to select those who will do the daily work of running an efficient party and subsequently a government.  It requires ensuring that communication and dissent is allowed to flow upward.     It demands the ability to turn campaign sound bites into realistic ideas, ideas into policies, policies into programmes, and to execute those programmes well.  

I am not particularly fond of the sea but I love to watch, from a safe distance, the rough, large waves that at times hit hard on our shores.  I find them fascinating and inspiring.  I have always been mesmerised by enormous vessels carrying thousands of tons of cargo, by multi-storey, huge leisure cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers, and by enormous aircraft carriers carrying airplanes and other heavy military artillery that keep afloat even when sailing in rough, open seas.  Reading it about it is one thing, but seeing it from close quarters in our harbours and elsewhere is simply marvellous.       

Although I have long ago given up on understanding buoyant forces, it is a fact that while we are too heavy to walk on water and will sink like a stone if we tried, vessels of whatever size can float.

The new party leader, similar to a ship’s captain, should command the overall operation, passengers, crew and safety of the vessel.  Working in conjunction with mates and staff, the captain/party leader ensures that protocols are followed and safety measures practiced. The captain/party leader is also responsible for the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo.  A ship’s captain, and a party leader, must be experienced in analysing speed, weather conditions and other factors that affect a ship's/party’s navigation, while controlling a staff of officers. The skills required of a captain/party leader also include communication, customer service, delegation and organisation. These are basic requirements for the new PN leader.    

The leadership of the party should be handed to the person who decides to voluntarily undertake missionary work, and not to anyone looking for glory.   

 

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