Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1011650
17 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 AUGUST 2018 INTERVIEW government. You yourself said he called an early election of that basis. Even though (incidentally) many Nationalists disagree with that analysis... That he called an early election because of Egrant? Yes. [Shrugs] I think that's the case. Muscat still had a year to go... and obviously, he used [the ear- ly election] to – because this is where the malice and cunning really come into it – Joseph Mus- cat wanted to wash away the rest of his sins, not just Egrant. That gave him the strength to go for an early election, when the Na- tionalist Party was not prepared for an election. We were not pre- pared for an election a year early; that much is clear. But even if we accept that it was an 'error of judgment': it resulted in the PN facing an election for which it was not prepared, and which it lost by a historic margin. And to this day, no one has taken responsibility for this 'mistake'. No, I think responsibility was shouldered when the leader- ship resigned en masse after the election; and the second in- stance where responsibility was shouldered is that Adrian Delia removed Busuttil's good govern- ance portfolio. Joseph Muscat didn't do this. He retained the people around him. Either way, we are left with a situation where Adrian Delia's leadership is undermined by a faction within his own parliamentary group. Next year there will be MEP elections; and a general election in 2022. How can the PN face these challenges, at the helm of a party we can all see is divided? I think Adrian Delia took a very important step; he took his share of the responsibility, he took the decisions he had to take. But then, he also used political com- promise. Politics is the art of the possible; it is the art of compro- mise. In today's circumstances – even for the good of the coun- try, not just the party – it would make sense for the party to re- main united... But it isn't united... I think the ingredients are all in place, so that the PN will not just 'reunite', but will remain united. But obviously, everyone has to shoulder his own responsibility. It's like having a football coach, who sooner or later has to decide who's playing in what position. In this case, he decided that a certain player is no longer good for that position; at least, until others matters are cleared up. It's not a decision taken for the good of the player or the coach... but in this case, for the good of the party and country. To extend that analogy further: what if the player not chosen by the coach insists on playing all the same... and half the team rebels against the coach? Wouldn't the coach [Adrian Delia] emerge weaker from that scenario? [...] A sense of leadership does not mean having the strength to deliver a knock-out blow. Adrian Delia today has the firm sup- port of the party structures. If he wanted to take that decision, rest assured that he could have taken it, and taken it successfully. The decision not to go down that route – or rather, the decision not to persist... because his own position did not change since his first statement: to be perfectly clear, there was no progression to any another decision. This is important to understand. We didn't move forward; we kept to what had already been stated. But if he wanted to take that de- cision to move forward, he would have had the necessary support. And there were many people telling him to move forward; just as there were others telling him, 'it's not wise'. Adrian Delia's decision as a leader – and this is its greatness – was not to safe- guard his own position; because if he did take the decision many were expecting him to take, he would have emerged as a very strong leader. Nobody would have been able to withstand him; he could have forged ahead. But he looked to the future of the party; the future of the country. And he saw that he had to make a compromise; otherwise, this government would have become too strong; and it's not the kind of strength the country needs for democracy to function properly. You mentioned that Delia enjoys support in the party structures. He doesn't seem to have much grassroots support. A survey this week suggested that the PN today would only get 16.5% in an election. Other statistics suggest that Busuttil's faction is capable of getting 56K, while Delia's only 36K. How do you respond to those figures? To be honest, I don't set much store on those calculations. There are party hardcore sup- porters who would have voted for Busuttil, and the two deputy leaders, simply because of the position they held. As for the survey, it seems to have been an innovative way of conducting a scientific poll. But what we can certainly say is that, a year later, Egrant has had a devastating ef- fect on the party. We have to be clear on this; it had a devastating effect. [...] But to move forward: I think it's not just a question of the people concerned, and their validity. I think it's a question of the method. The method has to change. That's why Adrian Delia said 'A New Way'; because the old way failed; and a year later, it came back to bite us again. So definitely, Adrian Delia had nothing to do with that meth- od. He wasn't even there. But still, the method has to change. How? First of all, because of this story, [other things are being ignored]. Yesterday, statistics about poverty emerged: 72,000 people are living in poverty, at a time when the economy is doing well. The Labour government felt comfortable not holding a press conference about a 5c in- crease in fuel, when it had held a press conference to announce a 1c decrease. Then there's the case – I won't say 'corruption', because the matter is in court... but a huge building in Rabat, over which a high-ranking offi- cial in the education ministry is now facing charges: now, all of a sudden, it's all being forgotten: 'washed away' by the Egrant in- quiry report. So [...] we need to find a way: we need to rediscover a sense of empathy with people. Along the way, we seem to have lost that. It may be hard to reacquire, though. Recently you were accosted at a restaurant by a Nationalist activist. As part of the Delia faction, you are on the receiving end of harsh criticism by Nationalists. How can you hope to get those voters back on board? With regard to that incident: I take such things in my stride. But – and I say this in all humility – I feel that that kind of mentality is wrong. It does no good, because it reduces political discourse to certain levels. And I think that, unfortunately, in recent years – for whatever reason – it's be- come fashionable to think that this sort of thing makes you look 'cool'. [...] It's OK to disagree, it's OK to debate: but a certain basic sense of respect towards the oth- er person – if not to the opinion – needs to be retained. Perhaps it is partly our fault as politicians; maybe we can do better in this regard. But unfortunately, I have seen this trend emerge... All the same, she did make certain points. Let's face it: there were allegations concerning Adrian Delia, too. Are you confident that Adrian Delia is the right person to lead the PN, especially when it comes to fighting corruption? I do have faith in Adrian De- lia, otherwise I wouldn't be here. When those allegations surfaced, I asked him directly, because I wanted to know. I will not get dirty on my own account, let alone on someone else's account. Let's be clear. If I had the tiniest doubt that there was any truth in those al- legations, you can rest assured I would not be here today. You can rest assured. But in that campaign, I saw so many un- truths emerging, that I was disgusted. Unfortunately, there were people who – like that young lady – believed those untruths, and made them their own. And I don't exclude that there are others like her. But, as the magistrate himself pointed out: 'a hundred suspicions don't amount to one truth'. 'devastating' for the PN The reality is that Simon Busuttil made some mistakes. But let's be honest: it's not as though he opened an account in Panama. It's not as serious as the case of a minister who opened an undeclared overseas account