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13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 AUGUST 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO IN an open discussion with the MaltaToday newsroom this week, PN leadership candidate Bernard Grech offered a glimpse of a more inclusive Nationalist Party which chooses its battles, avoids frontal attacks on adver- saries, and is not scared of discus- sion on taboos like abortion. But the aspirant leader remains cautious in making bold poli- cy proposals, coming across as a bland centrist who for now, is keener on listening than rocking the boat. Bernard Grech was keen to em- phasise that his bid to become PN leader instead of Adrian Delia was not the result of a compro- mise among rebel MPs, but a candidature which gained trac- tion within the party's grassroots ever since the party lost the 2017 general election. "As soon as Si- mon Busuttil resigned from lead- er I was approached by rank and file party members encouraging me to contest." He also insists that it was con- stituents who mentioned his name to MPs and not vice-versa. Emphasising his status as an outsider, he stressed that he on- ly became a card-carrying party member after the 2017 election, before which he preferred to be "an outspoken" private citizen. Indeed, he expressed his frustra- tion at the partisan labelling of people hailing from civil society who speak up on issues. "I don't know why a professional can- not speak his mind on politics without having to be denigrated over some partisan affiliation, or whether he is liberal or a conserv- ative." He also attributes his populari- ty in the party to his willingness to listen to people's problems – something he garnered on his legal advisory radio slot on Net FM – and to a firm but concil- iatory style on his numerous TV appearances. He also confirms turning down an offer to contest as an MEP candidate in 2019, claiming that at that time he found it diffi- cult to leave his family for a job abroad. Keen to emphasise his family-friendly image, he recalls having once nearly lost his hand while doing carpentry work while preparing a prop for a play in which his children were partici- pating. Yet the "outsider" now finds himself to be the preferred choice of MPs who had openly rebelled against Adrian Delia, another outsider who won the 2017 lead- ership election promising a "new way" that failed to shake things up for the PN, and was met with the derision of establishment MPs. When asked about the prob- lems faced by Delia in imposing his leadership on rebel MPs who openly defied him and whether he would censor MPs who would behave in the same way under his watch, Grech said he would not "censor". "But I would restore the mor- al authority required in ensur- ing unity in his party. If you lack moral authority you will also lose the authority to lead and be fol- lowed and everyone would start to do what he or she likes... My first priority would be to gain everyone's respect, not through censorship but through persua- sion." Grech did not exclude offering Delia a role if he becomes party leader. "Delia can be part of the solution, if he is willing." Grech firmly rejected any in- sinuation that he has gained the backing of rebel MPs by accept- ing any conditions including that of serving as an interim leader un- til the next general election, only to be replaced by a party heavy- weight after the general election. "I do not believe in half measures and I am here for the long haul," Grech answered, categorically, when asked by the MaltaTo- day's newsroom whether he was accepted as the sole candidate against Delia on condition that he would step aside after the next general election to enable oth- er candidates to contest for the post. He also strongly denied that he accepted any condition before accepting to contest for the post. "I accepted to contest with abso- lutely no conditions attached to my candidature." In a clear indication of the style he intends adapting if elected Opposition leader, he made it clear that he would not engage in frontal attacks against anyone. "I was always vociferous against corruption. I immediately ac- cepted Repubblika's invitation to participate in the vigil commem- orating assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia where in my speech I emphasised unity and persuasion rather than fron- tal attacks… Our battles have to be chosen well and we should not treat our adversaries as enemies." Addressing the perception that he represents continuity with the old PN, which has rallied behind him, he is scathing in his analysis of what went wrong for the par- ty since Malta joined the EU. He emphasised the need for a more "inclusive" party, recognising that after Malta joined the EU, the party entered a frame of mind "of congratulating itself at reach- ing the apex", forgetting new problems people were facing. He reprimands his party for not be- ing inclusive enough. "I do not think the PN was elitist. But it was not inclusive enough and it did not empathise with the pain people were expe- riencing. PN governments did create great wealth and changed the country for the better but we did not do enough to ensure that nobody is left behind." Grech, who hails from Birzeb- bugia, recognised the party's weakness in the south of Malta, acknowledging that past Nation- alist governments could have invested more in the region. He frankly acknowledged that in some cases Labour was more at- tentive to the needs of people in the south by investing in such projects as a new pitch which had remained abandoned for 25 years, but he hit out at Labour over its botched American Uni- vesity plans for Marsaskala. "The PN did not invest enough and did not address the needs of the people of the south in the same way as it did in the north." One other significant departure from the party's recent past is his readiness to discuss any topic, including taboos like abortion, which he opposes but without demonising those who propose it. "I do not want babies to be killed… But I can't just say ignore the difficulties faced by human beings in such situations." But his insistence that he is against absolutism and that he can't be expected to have an an- swer to everything may also be seen as a reflection of his cautious approach and a fear not to rock the boat. For example, Grech is hesitant to take a position on constitutional amendments to increase the number of women in parliament, insisting that he would favour any mechanism which does not simply increase the number of women but in- creases "valid women" – prompt- ing the MaltaToday newsroom to interject and point out that no such distinction is made between valid male MPs and not so valid ones. When quizzed on party iden- tity, he also sticks to a vanilla Christian democratic principle of "putting the human person at the centre of any decision". But while hinting at a more interventionist state in addressing problems like affordable housing and precari- ous work conditions, he is wary of any "artificial intervention in the market" through price con- trols, insisting that social justice in housing is best served by in- creasing the supply of properties, through urban regeneration pro- jects. More concretely, he hints at a reform of inheritance laws to free up more housing stock. When quizzed on whether the State should intervene on wages, he turns the tables on Labour for intervening in the labour market by importing nurses from abroad instead of offering better condi- tions to encourage more Maltese people to follow a nursing career. He also hints at giving greater value to teachers with higher sal- aries, saying they "should not be treated as babysitters" who take care of children while their par- ents are working. He admits a lack of expertise on economics and that he has a lot to learn but recalls that former prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami, who presided over ep- ochal changes in the Maltese economy, was no economist… it sets the stage for a battle of ide- as with Labour, now also led by a lawyer, after a spell of dominance by economists. "On economics I have a lot to learn but I have ide- as. The economy has to be sus- tainable not just for the sake of the environment but also so that it can be able to withstand blows like COVID-19… We need to di- versify not to be over dependent on a few sectors." Bernard's leadership bid: the bold and the bland "I do not think the PN was elitist. But it was not inclusive enough and it did not empathise with the pain people were experiencing." Showing his face: Bernard Grech at the MaltaToday newstroom