Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1272935
A profile of different PN voters The educated liberal professional A young professional by occupation and politically moderate, she is appalled by the industrial scale of Labour's corrup- tion and also dislikes Adrian Delia for a perceived lack of depth, having had doubts on his integrity ever since Daph- ne Caruana Galizia exposed his Soho connections. Is concerned by over-de- velopment and leans towards a more socially liberal outlook on most but not all issues, keeping an open mind even on abortion with which she largely dis- agrees. Would never vote for an ul- tra-conservative party, won't mind pay- ing less taxes but would also like better public services. The Edwin Vassallo fan club He owns a small shop, is proudly conservative, tribalist and viscerally hates anything Labour. Would support any PN leader and is appalled by the disloyalty of re- bel MPs towards Delia. Identifies with Edwin Vassallo and equates supporting choice in abortion with murder. Never identified with Caruana Galizia except when she lashed out at Labour ministers. He was very angry after her murder, but was offended when Delia became a target of protes- tors. Would not vote for the far-right but feels some af- finity with their aversion to immigration. Would never accept the PN becoming a liberal party and thinks the party should stand for good old family values. The enlightened conservative Mid- dle-aged and university-educated, she had voted against the introduction of divorce in the 2012 referendum. She has now reluctantly accepted the perma- nence of social changes enacted in past years, including gay marriage, but fears more change especially on abortion. She feels empathic towards migrants stranded at sea but has some concerns on migrant influx on security and the in- frastructure and would like to see more police on the beat. Would also like to see better enforcement on construction sites and was shocked by house collapses. She is appalled by current squabbles in the party and was willing to give Delia a chance. But now thinks the party would be better off if Delia resigns to give the party a fresh chance. The beneficiary of past favours He owes a lot to a former PN minister who found him a job in a newly set- up authority. He likes to relax in his brothers' countryside abode, built illegally in the 1990s and only 'sanctioned' under Labour a few years ago. His brother always complains that under Lawrence Gonzi, the Nationalists be- came cut off from the people and his reward for past services to the party was being served with an enforcement order. While his brother now happily votes La- bour, he still owes the party too much to abandon it its darkest hour. But he is always keen in reminding prospective candidates who visit him on the eve of elections that the PN will only win again if it starts taking care of its own. Initial- ly he found Delia charming and a good adversary for Muscat. But he now fears that with him as leader his party will nev- er win power and will never help him in the same way it did in the past. The troubled business-owner As a past Nationalist voter he reluctantly admits benefiting from increased con- sumption and spending in the past seven years. He has also invested in property benefiting from relaxed planning rules thanks to which he demolished an old house (keeping its façade) and adding four new floors on top. Is worried that a change in government could be unset- tling and doubts competence of present day PN in economic matters. He is also angry at corruption and suspects that goal-posts are constantly being moved to accommodate the chosen few. He cring- es at Labour's antics but would not risk having Adrian Delia as PM, fearing in- stability. Neither was he a fan of Busuttil and although he never admits it in pub- lic, had voted Labour in 2017 because of the "economy". He has come to regret this but still wonders whether his business will continue to prosper if there is a change in government. The Daphne shrine warrior He lived through the tragic 1980s and sincerely believes that Labour al- ways makes a mess whenever elect- ed in government. In the past he had served in the secretariat of a Nationalist minister and was un- wavering in his loyalty when the PN was in government, always arguing that Labour was so worse when in pow- er. Now he feels v i n d i - c a t e d a g a i n . It pains h i m to see Labour o c c u p y i n g positions of power, considering them as too flawed in character to bear such responsibilities. Would like the PN to lead protests until the government is toppled but detests Delia, whom he considers a Trojan horse planted by Labour, unwor- thy of leading the party. He would abstain if Delia remains 12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JULY 2020 NEWS THE PN's vote base has been shrinking since 2004 when the party received a drubbing in the first MEP elections back then. But despite the implosion, the party has not lost its di- versity. For while the PN's to- tal numbers have shrunk, the party still remains a coalition of social liberals, conserva- tives, upper middle-class vot- ers, working class voters, trib- alists and reformists. This unlikely combination is an inheritance of Eddie Fenech Adami's successful strategy which weaponised strong and unifying battle-cries: democ- racy in the 1980s and Europe in the 1990s and 2000s, to hold together different groups of voters. This diversity has not van- ished in the PN cohort. But the various types of PN voters now find themselves swim- ming in a smaller and murkier pool. Deprived of a battle-cry, which keeps them happy to- gether, they cringe at each other's past and present antics. Reimagining the PN Can it become great again?