Parents often face a dilemma on how much discipline or not they should apply to their children's formation. Nowadays boundaries are rather confused, eradicated or mis-guided. Discipline needed may also vary depending on the age, such as with childhood or adolescence.
One would have thought that with the large family that Adrian Delia, Leader of the Opposition, has been blessed with, he would have a good handle on the topic. The title of this article is actually the remark, on the subject of the environment, made by Delia, when interviewed by the Independent for his comments in response to the resignation of Charlot Cassar and the reasons given for doing so.
Charlot Cassar is a former PN local councillor. He resigned from the party last week and said he will continue to represent his constituents as an independent councillor for Marsascala. He gave as reasons for his resignation the fact that he felt his values were no longer compatible with the reality he experienced in the PN and went on to say that the country has lost the Nationalist Party and that this fact is adding to the problems the country is facing. One assumes he means in the way that things are allowed to go unchallenged. We also suppose he meant the problems in the environmental sector but there is need for more clarity on the allegations and remarks.
A buddy buddy brief statement was issued by Karol Aquilina and Alex Perici Calascione. Then silence. Pressed by the media for some reaction, Dr Delia said he was saddened that someone feels the country has lost the P.N.
Has the country lost the PN or have the PN lost the country?
The reaction is somewhat bland in the face of a quite strong remark by Cassar. The trademark talk of inclusivity championed by Adrian Delia puts it in contrast to his response. Delia went on to say that in the environmental sector, some say that not enough is being done by the Nationalist Party and others fall on the other side of the spectrum.
Can the Nationalist Party afford this vague or uncommitted position, this lack of vision? This probably is where Charlot Cassar became frustrated to the point that he felt he could no longer reply to the constituents on matters of the environment and what the position of the PN was in regard to the issues faced by the Council. Justice delayed is justice denied. A reply or line of action delayed is just like a hopeless case.
This uncertainty and lack of commitment is being sensed by the electorate who think that the party has failed to connect and commit and show up for the top concerns. The claim of 1,000 new members coming in to the party since Delia was elected is wearing a bit thin now and may have been mainly due to an updating of the membership directory which was in some disorder at the time of the June election. In any case, unless progress continues to be made and the confidence grows, they are not going to register any significant change. Ratings are still in negative territory in spite of some increase here and there.
The time is now to show discipline, first and foremost by Adrian Delia himself, in settling his outstanding income tax dues and properly gaining the genuine support of the party members, councillors and elected candidates. He also needs to more honest about the impression he gives in public and in business. To have remained without comment on the issue of Cassar's resignation and remark about the country losing the PN, until now, shows detachment and lack of concern. In turn it generates that lack of confidence that people feel towards him and the party. Either the PN is a "family" where people can feel comfortable or it is a party club or Kazin where factions argue and doors remain shut and tables empty.
The same attitude is reflected in the reply that there is no clear direction by the PN where the environment is concerned. When does he intend to address this?
The environment in Malta today is of paramount concern. We are bombarded on a daily basis from all directions on matters affecting it. People stop each other in the street and try to find an ally to help them go to the PA to understand why building is taking place right next to them, with total disregard for their property and rights. Questions keep on being asked and no replies given on how this is allowed to go ahead with a permit. The right to enjoy your property has been discarded and trampled on and it hurts people.
Behind the construction lobby is politics. So, for Delia to be neither here nor there about the politics shows weakness. They should have caused an uproar about Sandro Chetcuti as Consultant for the PM. The country has lost the PN because we cannot afford any more time for Delia to get up to speed and begin leading from the front. On the other hand, there does need to be more harmony in the group because Christmas will come soon and they will have a hard time getting everyone around the turkey.
Before AZAD (A Foundation that aims to educate and raise awareness about political issues and democracy in the PN) begins its work, they would need to first of all know what the same policies actually are and how their democracy works. Or they may end up with one organization saying one thing and practice being another. This assessment is really crucial to the future of the PN and an exercise which should have the group in a Lenten retreat as they examine their conscious and decide on the political way forward.
Simon Busuttil had given us the forums who sweated for months, drawing up one publication after another aimed at establishing the policies for the party. No sooner had the election come and gone, it would seem, that the same reports were consigned to file no. 13. Perhaps the most disappointing one was the Gozo forum where the party really believed they had compiled everything that the people wanted from their government but had precious little time to sell it. Then people got wind of the jobs being dished out, much like Gennaro Savastano did in his home town of Secondigliano in Naples in the Gomorra series and the people started filing up to get their new job.
So, suddenly the internet cable, the junior college and the university in Gozo, the sale of the only state hospital, the roads and the tunnel all dropped down in the priority scale to be replaced by the "me and my family".
How can people be assured that the economy will be in good hands if they don't know that their jobs are safe? People pay bribes to get a visa, they probably are willing to pay for a job, if not in cash, then in loyalty. As it stands, the leader's own job is not quite a definite contract yet. As the members scatter around, he continues to live in denial and take his Bel tempo in putting the party out there and convincing the people that there is not just an alternative but a better choice. Is Delia there to stay or not, is another question on their mind. Will the MEP elections be a benchmark or not?
If people know what the Nationalists will do about the construction industry, they will know if their job is safe or not, or if they should continue to offer their support to one Minister or another. What will happen to the horde of customer care employees or the troops of Persons of Trust? Is there the money to continue paying these people? The IIP may come in handy for that so what are the plans there? Will local firms have to continue competing with foreign firms for a slice of the cake or can they expect some preferential treatment with a direct order coming their way?
Are these the voters the PN wants to target and can they compete with labour? If it is clear that doing things the labour way is against the values of the PN, then be clear and brave and take up the challenge and say so.
By the time it is decided if it is enough or not, the whole country will be built up with high-rises and covered in concrete and petrol stations and all our taxes gone to direct orders, shady foreign "investors" and cronies of the labour party. Our energy and health sectors will bleed us dry for decades, freedom of the press will be a forgotten luxury and crime will rocket.
No one said it was going to be easy but more is expected.