Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1253597
PHOTO BY JAMES BIANCHI 8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MAY 2020 INTERVIEW Reacting to our survey last Sunday – which indicates that the PN's support has dwindled to 21% – you wrote a note to the PN parliamentary group calling for an urgent meeting to dis- cuss the situation. Why do you think has the PN not managed to regain any of its lost ground since the 2017 election? First of all, let me point out that I send a note to the parlia- mentary group every time there is a survey: not just this time. This is because I know how se- riously the journalists who work on these surveys take their job – in MaltaToday, but also in other media houses – so I take their surveys very, very seriously. But at the same time, it's also only a snapshot of the situation. You also have to look at the cir- cumstances. Right now, we are in the middle of a pandemic. And when there is a crisis – like the Libyan crisis of 2011, for in- stance – the trend is for people to rally round the government. This happens all around the world, not just in Malta. Naturally, this doesn't mean that we can set our minds at rest. The results of Sunday's survey still worry me, a lot. But does it mean that, if an election were held today, the PN would lose by 90,000 votes? Definitely not… But that's what you yourself predicted in that note; you said that the PN would lose by 90,000 votes, and also lose up to seven seats… Yes, but let me tell you why: because while the survey is in- deed showing a gap of that size, it comes at a time when there is no election in the offing. When an election is announced, things usually start to change. The category of 'Don't Knows', or those who are saying they will not vote at all, will start to decrease, as more and more people make their voting inten- tions known. The reality today is that we are only three years into this legisla- ture; so the next election is due in two years' time. We are not in 'election mode' yet; people out there are not talking about politics at the moment. They're more interested in the pandem- ic. So if it wasn't for the fact that my note to the Parliamentary Group got leaked, most proba- bly people wouldn't even know there was a survey at all... Perhaps; but this doesn't change the fact the PN has clearly not managed to re- group, three years into Adri- an Delia's leadership. Why is that, in your opinion? I think there are many differ- ent reasons; you can't really sin- gle out only one. For example, the hurt experienced by people who feel that the last PN gov- ernment was not close enough to them, is still there. Also, the fact that the last leadership election was so divisive has damaged the party. We took too long to unite behind the new leader; and unfortunately, the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia did not help the PN's cause. On the contrary, it creat- ed yet another rift. Having said that: for the past year or so, I have seen the par- liamentary group becoming more compact and united. I have seen how party delegates have once again started to work hand in hand with Adrian De- lia. But unfortunately, we're not projecting this enough to the outside world. And that's one of the problems we are facing. When there is some kind of confrontation [between Na- tionalist exponents], it tends to get sensationally reported in the media. But the fact that we are now working well together – especially since the shadow cabinet reshuffle – and there is a renewed synergy with the party leader… that has not been felt, out there. So some people are still judg- ing the PN as a 'divided party'. I can assure you, however, that it is not… The PN does project that im- age, however. For instance, Adrian Delia recently paid the AFM a courtesy visit, to congratulate them for saving lives at sea… just a day after Jason Azzopardi filed criminal charges against several AFM members, accusing them of attempted homicide. Doesn't that send out the message that the PN leader, and his shadow Justice Minister, are on differ- ent wavelengths? But Jason Azzopardi also practices as a private lawyer: as is his right to do so. He repre- sented that case in his private professional capacity, not as a Nationalist MP. And besides: Azzopardi himself acknowl- edged that his actions could have been misinterpreted; and he withdrew from the case of his own accord. But it doesn't change the fact that Jason Azzopardi also works hand in hand with the party leader; and that he was given an important portfolio, as shadow Justice Minister… That, too, seems contradicto- ry. Adrian Delia won the 2017 party leadership election on a promise to 'give the PN back' to its rightful owners… yet he now seems to be accommodating his detractors within the party; and even rewarding people who are (to outside appearances, any- way) trying to trip him up… To me, that is a sign of Adri- an Delia's greatness as a lead- er. Great leadership is not just a question of winning other people over; it also consists in consolidating what you already have…. and recognising how to make the best use of the availa- ble talent. Let's face it: it is a natural hu- man instinct to kick someone out, when they do things to make your life difficult. And some people thought that that was going to be Adrian De- lia's way of doing things. But it would have been wrong… In the light of the survey re- sults, though… wouldn't you Nationalist MP HERMANN SCHIAVONE was the first to sound the alarm over a MaltaToday survey which paints a dismal picture of the PN's electoral fortunes. Yet he insists that the PN still has a chance of winning, in spite of everything Never give up... Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt