Two quotes from Napoleon Bonaparte:  A leader is a dealer in hope and Victory belongs to the most persevering.

Perseverance or hope.  Both are needed at their own time and circumstance.   Discerning when each is appropriate and which can serve them best is the dilemma facing the Nationalist party.

The leader of the party, Adrian Delia, advocates perseverance and maintains that support has not been forthcoming enough and if it had to be demonstrated, then there exists the chance for change and an element of success. 

The results of the MEP elections and the local council elections, would, on the other hand, indicate that the electorate have lost hope in the PN leader.  He can no longer command an army and the public have no intent of marching with him to a battle that they have no hope of winning, with him as leader.

Then there are the in-betweeners, largely made up of the elected Representatives of the people, delegates and the party members. 

From the flanks, we have the MZPN, the youth movement of the Nationalist Party, and the ex-President of the executive committee, who have drawn the line and call for complete change in the leader and the party officials.

The old PN grandees, who led the party to victory over a span of 25-27 years from 1981 to 2008 have been virtually exiled to political wilderness.  The door of the Dar Centrali may be said to be open to all but in truth it is only the postman who is going in and out. 

The New Way architects have failed to convince the public that they can offer hope and have been resoundingly rejected, either by abstaining voters or by the poor result in both the MEP and the local council elections.  One may also say that the lack of support prior to the election was not of choice but one of conviction.  New candidates were not seeing a future in committing to the party.  You choose a future path when you see that it is in line with your opinions, ambitions and abilities and does not conflict with your moral values and when there is a sense of inclusion.

The same can be said of floating voters who in the New Way saw only No Way.

Throughout the process, there were the in-between-ers, caught between acareeras a politician and the broken party before them, totally unprepared to be independent thinkers or to fight for victory. They are still scratching their armpits, waiting for the next Festa to roll along so they can celebrate something. Trying to be positive when their instinct is saying they should be negative has paralysed their mind and their voice.   That whole mantra is as fake as the Hotel Rolex.

With the electorate turning away and the leader digging in, the paralysis cannot go on anymore and the time has come for a proper scrutiny of their own conscience and the duty they have as delegates to come to a decision. Same with the members. Do they feel that the present situation is doing justice to the statute of the party?  What hope can they give people that the party can offer more than just an empty stomach?  Because up till now we are told to keep on starving because if we are all hungry together than that will mean we can revive our flagging strength.  Apparently, throwing out the old loaf was meant to be replaced with stodgy sliced bread but nobody wants that anymore than they want the plastic bag.

Whatever is to be, unity or vote of confidence, the people are not buying it so they should take a good look at the merchandise and check-out the sell-by date and stop forcing expired goods on us.  And by that I don’t mean age-wise.  I mean demand-wise.  Whenever I go to a shop and they are pushing to sell me something I don’t want, I simply walk out and avoid that shop.  Neither am I keen to buy something that is dull and boring and serves no purpose.  Enticing me to buy is another matter.  That I can appreciate.  Being electable is more than for Christmas.  It is a commitment and a pledge and an energy, combined with free thought, honest belief and skills to know what the country needs.

Most of all, one must identify the chaff from the wheat, whether it is in you, or around you and give hope to every person that supports you.

People are not asking for another apology.  They are looking to forgive and move on and re-build.  Instead they are being kept back and victimized by patronising gurus from the recent-past failed elections.

Another Napoleon quote which seems to have been employed by the labour party:  Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.