Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1211430
Reacting to your appointment, the former PN government aide and activist Manuel Delia blogged: 'You're my father's age. And I'm too old for the job you've just taken on.' How do you respond to that: ageism, or does he have a point? I get the feeling, in general – this does not apply to all people – that here in Malta, we tend to have too much of a bias against age. I look at politicians in the rest of Europe, and outside of Europe, and I see quite a few of them who are older than my- self… Well, Bernie Sanders is almost old enough to be your father, too… [Laughs] But in any case, Ma- nuel Delia said that I could be his father's age. I don't know if that's a compliment or not; but what I can tell you is that I called him, and thanked him for his ar- ticle… All the same, people might in- terpret your appointment as evidence that the PN still can- not reach out to a new genera- tion of voters. Isn't there some truth to this? No, I disagree that we have that problem. We are in touch with young people on a daily ba- sis; we have MZPN which is the party's youth movement; as well as 'Team Start', which is made up of people of an even younger age. Both branches of the party are very active... though we do need to reach out more. One of my tasks – and I said this from the very beginning – is, in fact, to reach out to more young peo- ple… But that's precisely the point of the criticism: how well-posi- tioned are you to do that? [Shrugs] To be perfectly hon- est, I still feel young… younger than ever, in fact! My CV within the party also includes having been president of the Nationalist Party Youth Movement; before that, I was President of the Uni- versity students' union, and set up a youth organisation of my own. When you're that involved in student or youth organisa- tions, I think that you tend to remain focused on young people all the rest of your life. Fair enough. Let's turn to the actual situation in the PN, which is split between rival groupings: the so-called '17 Blue Heroes', against the fac- tion loyal to PN leader Adri- an Delia. It is now your job is somehow reconcile these dif- ferences. Do you genuinely feel this is possible? I do believe it is possible, yes. After all, it is normal to have differences of opinion in a par- liamentary group; though I ad- mit that the differences, at this stage, are stronger than they should be. But part of my remit is to get these people together, and ensure that they work as one team. At the end of the day, issues can be resolved by work- ing together… Meanwhile, Adrian Delia has described his detractors as the same 'clique' which had previ- ously 'hijacked' the party. Isn't it a case, then, that both sides are claiming ownership over the PN? In my opinion, the party be- longs to all people who are will- ing to work within it; and who share the same vision and values; and I don't see any fundamental differences there…. I have heard of people being described as be- longing to different groups: but both speaking out very loudly for justice; both and speaking out very loudly about the need for truth, and against corruption… But they are accusing Delia himself of corruption and mon- ey-laundering… Adrian Delia has repeatedly called on people making such allegations to come forward, and if they wish to probe further, he is available for further scrutiny… How tenable is Delia's position, though? Do you think he should resign? I think we have a party that has made up its own structures; these structures are very clear, in my opinion. They include what the membership of the party should decide upon; they also include the General Coun- cil: where Adrian Delia has been confirmed [as leader] twice over. So at the end of the day, we need to work within what the party structures, and party stat- ute, provides for us. Turning to the PN's debt: the party disputes the figure of €34 million; but admits that it 'runs into millions'. Why does the PN not publish all its accounts – in- cluding those of its commercial enterprises – to establish how much it owes, and to whom? The Nationalist Party submits regular accounts to the Electoral Commission; these accounts can be viewed online… That doesn't include commer- cial entities… Well, the commercial entities do their own filing, in terms of the legal provisions regulating companies… But don't you think this infor- mation should be made public, in the interest of transparency and accountability? Otherwise, it creates a risk that the PN could be blackmailed, by the threat of a creditor calling in his debts… That risk does not exist, I can assure you. I contest that we owe money to commercial entities, which are in any way subjecting the party to any form of control over the contents of our mes- sage, or about how we do poli- tics… I completely contest that. But ultimately, debt is not only a question of how much one ow- es; but also of the value of one's assets and liabilities. And as long as the value of your assets is su- perior to that of your liabilities, then you are in a financially sta- ble situation. Nonetheless, debt does affect the PN's ability to rebuild itself. As things stand, we have a very strong Labour Party in govern- ment; and the PN on the brink of fragmentation. Doesn't this mean that the future of Par- liamentary democracy (as we know it) is also at stake? I agree that this is a serious situation, and that we owe it to ourselves – but, much more than that, we have a duty to- wards the country as a whole – to ensure that the party moves forward. For that, the first key ingredient is to promote further unity. I have always deemed my role to be that of someone who can somehow build all the neces- sary bridges, between different Undeterred by questions surrounding his age, PN veteran (and new interim secretary-general) FRANCIS ZAMMIT DIMECH admits he has a gargantuan task ahead… but insists he is not one to give up easily 'The first day of the PN's future' Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt 8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTO BY JAMES BIANCHI