Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1205478
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JANUARY 2020 While the PN under Fenech Adami re- assured these voters by retaining a safety net, it also tapped and cultivated their in- dividualism, thus eroding their class-con- sciousness and loyalty to the Labour Par- ty. While under the PN many stopped identifying themselves with the working class, Labour gradually learned to lure them back by adjusting itself to their aspi- ration of becoming "little rich men". The hike in electricity bills and accompanying austerity after 2004 also contributed to a shift in allegiance of this cohort to La- bour. This was also coupled by a decline in the PN's traditionally strong patronage networks during the Gonzi years, which led to more people complaining that they were not being served, a persistent com- plaint reported by PN candidates during house visits. Moreover Labour's positioning as the party of stability and economic growth after 2013 coupled with social measures like free childcare, free examinations and free school transport reinforced this trend, especially among those who al- ready own their own homes and have a stable job, and where thus not exposed to the more neoliberal side of Labour's eco- nomic model. The PN remains at a loss on how to reach out beyond its restricted cohort of middle-class voters. Delia's 'new way' may have represented an attempt to reach out to them by emphasising issues like immigration but this also served to disorient other categories of voters. The power of the 'N' word So will removing the word 'national- ist' from the party name as suggested by Galea resolve the party's problem in reaching out to the wider electorate? While the word nationalist is definite- ly off-putting in the European context where the word is associated with the far right, in the Maltese context 'national- ism', remains one of the strongest defin- ers of political identity, albeit expressed in different ways by the two sides of the political divide. Even if it does not label itself 'national- ist', Labour has been more effective in de- ploying the nationalist card than the PN. For while Labour tends to emphasise a brand of nationalism which pits the Mal- tese against the intrusions of foreigners, for example by depicting critics such as Maltese MEPs colluding with meddling non-Maltese MEPs as "traitors", the Na- tionalist side has emphasised a stronger identification with European norms often held in contrast with Labour's crass be- haviour in office. This expression of European identity in the PN is in itself contradictory. For while it partly harks back to its original identification with Latin and Christian culture, among younger and more liberal PN-leaning voters it resonates with a re- vulsion at Labour's populism in a similar way that the centre-left electorates recoil at strongman populists. The removal of the word "nationalist" from the party's name offers the party the opportunity to reconnect to a more cos- mopolitan reality, possibly an opportuni- ty to advocate a kind of patriotism, which is less based less on loyalty to nation and ethnicity and more on loyalty to constitu- tional and civic values and norms. Apart from paying lip service to the Eu- ropean family of centre right parties, the addition of the word "people" or "pop- ular" to the party's name may represent another attempt to rebuild the Eddie Fenech Adami coalition of middle class, self employed and a significant minority of working-class voters. But this in itself suggest that society is composed of one unified abstract category – the'people' – and contrasts with a reality marked by inequality in both power, status and in- come. The question remains what gel can the party use to rebuild a coalition which cuts across these lines and will its aspiration be that of perpetuating inequality or to challenge it head-on? NEWS ANALYSIS the PN's identity crisis? KURT SANSONE A change in name for the Nationalist Party was only part of a whole package of ideas put forward to reform the par- ty, Louis Galea said. The former PN minister said reform and renewal were "an urgent" matter for the PN. Galea was entrusted to draw up a re- form by party leader Adrian Delia last summer in the wake of the PN's dis- astrous result at the European Parlia- ment election. Galea's statement this morning was reacting to a report published over the weekend by Illum that revealed one of the proposals was to change the PN's name to National People's Party. The PN grandee did not deny that he proposed a change in name but insist- ed that the reports did not reflect the substance of what is being proposed. "It is obvious that the much needed PN reform has to go far beyond a mere name modification. This is why the re- form proposals I have submitted are substantial," Galea said. He expressed his confidence that if the reform is accepted and "properly implemented" the changes will give a new lease of life to the party. Galea did not divulge his proposals but outlined the main issues tackled by the reform. The proposals seek a more effective performance by the parliamentary group; an "urgent reform" in the po- litical and institutional framework to enable the country to "return to full democracy and good governance"; an update of the party's mission state- ment that will provide the basis for an "adjournment of the party's thinking and politics"; and changes intended to re-organise the party around a team- based effective democratic structure at all party levels. Galea said that he has proposed a draft to change the party statute "in light of developments that have changed socie- ty", and to cater for the "urgent need to put the party on a strong and modern footing". He said that in the second week of January all PN MPs were invited to discuss the proposals over three long sessions. Galea has been meeting functionaries and members at all levels of the party structure, including at district level, and compiling suggestions and ideas. He said the discussion on the reform process will now continue in the party executive, the councillors' assemblies, before ending up in front of the general council for approval. "The reform and renewal of the PN are urgent and in the best interests of the party and more so of the country," Galea said. Reform must be 'far beyond' name-change – Louis Galea Louis Galea meeting PN leader Adrian Delia