Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1270964
2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JULY 2020 Hardened hearts inside the PN Editorial THE tribulations inside the Nationalist Party are hardly just part of a skirmish between personalities inside the PN or their loyal followers. THE war inside the PN is a culmination of political manoeuvres, ideological digressions and political reconsolidations on a party that has struggled with the pressure of Maltese political history's tectonic movements. It is 12 years since the financial crisis that changed Europe, when austerity politics waged war on the poorest in the EU, bolstered nationalistic move- ments, and weakened European solidarity. Little seems to have changed since then in the EU of 2020 as it faces down the COVID-19 pandemic. The Na- tionalist government in 2008 had won its last elec- tion by just 1,500 votes. In the next election, over 37,000 would shift allegiance to Labour, consolidat- ing once again in 2017 in the face of serious alle- gations of corruption at the heart of Joseph Mus- cat's leadership, the breakneck speed of economic growth, and a progressive agenda of civil liberties. For the PN, little seems to have changed too. La- bour's repositioning into centrist, third-way, 'nat- ural party of government' politics outflanked the Nationalists on the right. Yet few people inside the Opposition today can speak a language of modern, visionary and ambitious politics. Neither Delia loy- alists, nor 'first class' rebels, have managed to go beyond the obligatory virtuosity of calling out the sins of the Panama gang (or of each other oppo- sition PN faction), or Labour's cosiness with the business class. And at a time when Labour should be soul-searching on the very dark legacy of the Muscat administration beyond its material achieve- ments, a sideshow of power politics keeps everyone absorbed, away from the corruption and state cap- ture of the institutions. Critically, the PN's chief problem has never been just the person who leads the party (although Mal- ta's presidential drift and the allure of strongmen remains an overarching factor in the two-party dominance). The party has failed to connect – polit- ically and regionally – with a working-class elector- ate whose lives have been unquestionably improved by the Labour economic programme; instead, under Delia the PN resorted to lazy nationalistic tropes on immigration and security. On the environment, Delia's occasional bluster on climate change is un- convincing – few people inside the PN seem to be equally preoccupied with Malta's umbilical depend- ence on construction and the ravages of our plan- ning regime to propose a radical departure from our business-as-usual model. In many political issues and on bread-and-butter realities, the PN has failed to articulate coherent and ideologically sound ideas that offer a solution to people's problems. It is useless to complain that Labour might have discarded its socialist creden- tials, if the alternative to that is nothing, or indeed 'less socialist' anyway. And to go by some of its MPs and their outdated view of society and change, the PN's crystallisation into a modern, European party of liberal democracy has yet to become reality. With that comes the person who leads and indeed articulates this vision. Already the party struggles under the factionalised split between its dynastic 'elites', and a more tribalistic section of members alienated by those who dislike Delia. It will be no mean feat to bring both sides back together after a war of attrition and spite, under the serene leader- ship of someone who can take the PN into a new po- litical sphere of action – propositional, aspirational, at ease with its own European calling and ready to disrobe itself of the hang-ups of its provincial con- servatism. There will be one further obstacle, currently char- acterised yet again by the battle between the two factions – a softening of hardened hearts whose disappointment at this internecine war will be felt for years to come. People like Franco Debono, the former MP, understand clearly how when in gov- ernment, the PN employed unofficial mouthpieces to hit out at internal critics like him, beat them into submission through the power of gossip and shame. That old dynamic of honour and shame lives on in the social media sphere that has attempted to dec- imate the ineffective Delia by publicising insalubri- ous details of his marital breakdown. Such tactics will have their toll on the PN, reminding the wid- er audience of the way politics is done inside the Stamperija, where the voice of an entitled class of politician carries more weight than others. That should not give Labour voters any serenity. The government is itself enjoying the PN sideshow with little regard for its own troubles since the de- parture of Muscat and Keith Schembri. Those who avoid seeking redemption for the sins of the administration do so at their own risk. Too many criminal investigations, national audits, and magisterial inquiries are going on not to uncover the nefarious workings of the Labour government's inner circle. 18 July 2010 Majority wants decision taken through a referendum A MaltaToday survey shows support for di- vorce has reached an all-time high of 59%. This is the highest level of support for the introduction of divorce since 1995 when the first survey on this issue was held. The survey also shows an overwhelming majority wants this issue to be decided through a national referendum. These are major findings of a MaltaToday survey held among 320 respondents between Monday and Thursday. Support for divorce has increased by six per- centage points since April when a MaltaToday survey showed that 53% backed the introduc- tion of divorce. The survey comes in the wake of a private members bill presented by Nationalist MP Jef- frey Pullicono Orlando, which catapulted the divorce issue to the centre of political discus- sion. The proposed bill recommends that divorce is only granted to people who have been living apart from their partner for at least four of the previous five years – thus allaying fears of in- stant 'Las Vegas – style' divorce. The question asked in the survey – "Do you agree with the introduction of divorce for per- sons who have lived apart from their partners for the past four years?" – reflected the propos- al tabled in parliament. Significantly, 41% gave an unqualified yes when asked whether divorce should be intro- duced, while 19% qualifies their answer insist- ing that divorce should only be introduced in certain circumstances. This could be an indication that support for divorce is still highly qualified among a catego- ry which only reviews divorce as a solution to irremediable breakdown of marital infidelity. In fact among this particular category, which supports divorce in particular circumstances, only 20% think that incompatibility in living together is enough of a reason to justify di- vorce. But 74% would grant a divorce in case of infi- delity and 95% would grant in cases involving violence or abuse. Support for divorce is more clear-cut among those aged between 18 and 34 years of age. Quote of the Week "I don't know of any democratic country where a leader loses the confidence of the majority of his MPs and his national executive, and does not choose the obvious and honourable path…" Former PN minister Louis Galea MaltaToday 10 years ago