The Nationalist Party, it seems, can never get it right with the LGBTI community.

Wednesday’s debate was the latest example of this. 

PN Leader Adrian Delia and other MPs tried hard, and failed to convince that the PN motion was about technical, not moral issues.

In simple terms, the issue was a Legal Notice, introduced last summer, which gives couples of all sexual orientations leave entitlement for IVF treatment.

The PN raised a ruckus because the definition of procreating parents used in the Legal Notice was different to the wording used in the 2012 IVF law, which was exclusively for heterosexual couples.

The Opposition was technically correct in saying that different definitions of the same thing in two different laws might lead to lengthy legal complications in the future.

But for the past weeks, instead of fighting for a change in the IVF law itself, to bring it in line with the new terminology used in the Legal Notice, the PN argued that it was the Legal Notice that had to be scrapped, even if this meant denying prospective IVF parents the right to 100 hours of leave.

It was only on this week that the PN changed its stance slightly and began speaking about changing the 2012 law.

The government made it clear that the discriminatory 2012 IVF law will be amended to comply with the ‘new’ definition of procreating parents, meaning that all this hullaballoo was for nothing.

The PN gained nothing from it. It only made more enemies and opened the party up to accusations of discrimination.

PD MP Godfrey Farrugia declared that he was voting against the motion because he did not agree with putting people into boxes.  And that is exactly what the PN’s attitude looks like, despite all the sugar coating.

During the debate, Delia pointed out that the Opposition was not saying it agreed or disagreed with the definition. This means that, despite the fact that this motion has been in the pipeline for weeks, and despite the fact that the real issue here was whether to give IVF leave to LGBTI couples (alongside same-sex couples) the PN still does not have an opinion on the matter.

On issues of civil liberties, the PN is always late to the party, and when it finally gets there, it messes everything up.

The party had started making inroads with the LGBTI community when it supported same-sex marriage in the summer, but it looks like it has now backtracked.

Above all, Wednesday’s vote laid bare the rift that is essentially splitting the PN in half.

Six MPs, including former PN leader Simon Busuttil, refused to toe the party line on an issue they considered to be one of conscience. Rather than go all the way and vote with the government – because they knew how the Labour Party would use that to its advantage – they abstained.

On top of that, they issued a statement confirming the fact that they had asked for a free vote, but Adrian Delia, who repeatedly pledged to give a free vote on matters of conscience during his leadership campaign, refused their request.

One has to say that it was a bit rich of Busuttil to ask for a free vote on a matter of conscience when, four months ago he refused to give a free vote on same-sex marriage. But Busuttil is no longer leader of the party – Delia is.

And while the latter is tightening his grip on the PN’s internal structures and committees, it seems that his Parliamentary Group is floating farther away.

The PN needs to get its act together, and fast.