Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1197486
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JANUARY 2020 INTERVIEW Let me start by asking you for a reaction to Chris Fearne's comment, to the effect that the Nationalist Party will 'never win another election' for as long as he lives. Placed in the context of the current leadership's widely known problems… isn't it true that the PN is finding it hard to return to its previous winning ways? In politics, I always try to act with respect. Personally, I don't think that comment was very re- spectful towards the Nationalist Party. But everyone makes mis- takes. And I think Chris Fearne made a mistake there. May I remind my friend Chris Fearne – and I wish both him and Robert Abela luck in next Sunday's election; I've been through the same process my- self, at vice-leader level, so I know what it means. But Fearne needs reminding that after this leadership election, there will be the country to take into account. And if he looks at the latest sur- veys – including MaltaToday's – the trend appears to be the other way round. The Nationalist Party is on the rise; Labour is sinking. Are we there yet? No, there is still some way to go. But are we on the right track? I'd say, yes, we are. So I think that, in politics, sometimes, the less said the bet- ter. To me, Fearne's comment was unnecessary … It is true that surveys indicate an upswing for the PN, but Labour's advantage remains strong: stronger, perhaps, than one would expect under the circumstances… But it's not just surveys. It's also the feeling we're getting at street-level. Where before, peo- ple would almost cross the street not to speak to you… over this Christmas season, we got a very different feeling from the people we met and spoke to. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the pro- posed renewal programme that the party is now committed to; there was a lot of positive feed- back from our 15 proposals for good governance. I also think the recent publica- tion of the Egrant report made a difference. As PN leader, Adrian Delia successfully went to court to obtain a copy of the report; and he didn't keep it to himself, but made it available to the pub- lic… including yourselves, the media. So I think that, yes, there has been a change in perception: people are beginning to take no- tice of the PN again, and are re- alising that we are right on many things. But the Egrant report also rekindled memories of when Adrian Delia demanded Simon Busuttil's suspension over the initial conclusions… and the internal split is still there. Meanwhile, the NGO Repubblika has hinted at a new political formation – and AD has entered into a coalition with PD. Doesn't this mean that the Nationalist Party's ability to muster a national majority has decreased? No, it means that there is a strong anti-Labour coalition. That's a good thing… But 'anti-Labour' doesn't automatically translate into 'pro-PN'…. It could. Let's wait and see… …and those political groupings – AD, PD and maybe soon Repubblika – are in not just in competition with Labour, but also with the Nationalist Party… Not really. They're against La- bour; they're against the corrup- tion, and the bad governance displayed by the Labour Party in government. I think that, on the issue of corruption, civil society and the PN are speaking with one voice… Are they really, though? Both Repubblika and Occupy Justice have called for Adrian Delia's resignation, too. Don't you see that as a problem? I don't think so. I believe we are all united in our desire for better, cleaner governance. There is no disagreement with the 15 proposals we have just published, for instance. So I be- lieve that, in time, even NGOs like Repubblika will be united with us, in our struggle against the most corrupt government in our country's history… By your argument, the PN exists only to oppose the Labour Party. Does it stand for anything else? Of course, it does. We have our principles, enshrined in the 'Basic Beliefs' document, and in our statute; we are not just a Christian Democrat party, but the party which paved the way to new rights and liberties for the people of Malta and Gozo. Wasn't it the PN which achieved Independence? And EU mem- bership? We cannot forget the past… Nor can you over-rely on past achievements, like you seem to be doing now… But you have to have solid foundations, to build a strong, stable edifice. The strength of the PN's foundations permits us to keep building, as a party. Jo- seph Muscat, on the other hand, built his house on sand. And now it's collapsing. Now, the man who was supposed to be 'Invictus' will no longer be either prime minister or Labour Party leader in just a few days' time. If, on the other hand, we re- main rooted in our basic princi- ples – our belief in good govern- ance; the economic model we believe in; our policies regarding the health and education sec- tors, and so on – I have no doubt that the PN will manage to win over its present critics. Let's turn to the PN's proposals. The party is proposing a second interconnector to solve Malta's current energy crisis. Wouldn't this merely increase our reliance on other countries for our electricity generation needs? What would happen if there's a problem on the supply side over which we have no control? Who says we don't have con- trol in Europe? The EU cannot close the energy tap. On the contrary, the advantage is that, by connecting to the European grid, you can choose where to buy your energy from. There is no bigger option than that… For the time being. But what if the circumstances change? What if war breaks out in Recent polls have suggested the beginning of a turnaround in the Nationalist Party's electoral fortunes. Will the upswing be enough to turn the tables on a Labour Party in deep crisis? Deputy leader DAVID AGIUS has no doubt that the answer is 'yes' The only way is up Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt