Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1305625
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 NOVEMBER 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTO BY JAMES BIANCHI Before becoming party lead- er last month, Bernard Grech admitted that the Nationalist Party had lost traction among the younger demographic. Has anything tangibly changed since Grech took over? Do you see any renewed enthusiasm among younger voters? Bernard Grech hasn't been lead- er of the Opposition for a very long time, but already you can tell there is a positive feeling among younger people. You can tell when you're been being heard; whether someone is using you just because you're there… or whether they're actually interested in what you have to say. And I think it's impor- tant that we acknowledge that, at this stage, Bernard Grech is inter- ested in what we have to say. Having said this, to expect a new leader to step in and simply change everything, from one day to the next, is a bit of a stretch. A change in leadership, on its own, is not enough. We all need to throw in our weight, determination and effort, to make sure that the par- ty's policies reflect what youths need nowadays. So, on his own…. No. But with everyone behind him… for sure! Judging only by his speech last Monday – in which he men- tioned 'the environment' (a major youth concern) no fewer than 57 times – Grech is cer- tainly making an effort to reach out. But, given the PN's past track record on the environ- ment, how credible is this new direction? Obviously it's still very prema- ture to determine whether that was a 'soundbite' or not. I person- ally don't think so. From what I've seen so far, Bernard Grech is very interested in taking on our ide- as. He has spoken to us, not just about the environment, but also about the National Youth Policy: which we are in the process of fi- nalizing. But when we speak about the Nationalist Party in the past, we tend to talk about 15 years ago, or more. And I honestly feel we need to start afresh; to stop judg- ing today's realities by yesterday's standards. From my point of view, even the fact that Bernard Grech started out on the right foot – and so far, that's the only foot we've seen – is hopeful, in itself. I'm very excit- ed to see what the future brings, starting from that point. Because if you're leading off from a good starting point: it can only get bet- ter, in my view. Obviously, that may be an opti- mistic opinion… but I'm OK with being optimistic, at this point in time. I feel we deserve a little op- timism, for a change… Grech said he 'wouldn't allow any further extensions to the development zones'. The issue today, however, is more with over-development taking place within the existing boundaries; and also the fact that the devel- opers' lobby is so deeply inter- twined with the political class. What sort of advice would you give Bernard Grech on those is- sues? Just to clarify: as MZPN, we have been asked for advice… or at least, for a youth perspective… but we haven't finalized anything yet. We are still in the process of looking into the issues. But for me personally: what I would like to see is less develop- ment happening everywhere. Less of these beautiful houses, that are scheduled, somehow crumbling down; less of these projects, where they say they'll 'keep the façade'; then suddenly, there's no façade… Because right now, there are just too many of these cases to even keep up with. It has reached a stage where, to monitor the in- credible destruction of our envi- ronment, and to fully understand what's happening every day… it's a full-time job. You can't even keep up with what's being lost, on a daily basis… And it's a constant exhaustion. I honestly feel that people of my generation are exhausted, reading the news every day. It's becoming traumatic. Not just because of the environ- ment, either. Or even COVID-19: which naturally doesn't add any joy to the newspapers. But every single day, it's either a new cor- ruption scandal; or a new case of Labour using civil liberties as a smokescreen – which they love doing: and it's incredibly upset- ting, to the people who are ac- tually involved… and on top of everything, the constant destruc- tion of the environment. Even on the eve of the budget: is that when they saw fit to up- root the trees for the Central Link project in Attard? It's not just the damage being done, in all these cases: it's also the constant back- handedness of it all… You mentioned Labour 'us- ing civil liberties as a smoke- screen'; but isn't it also true that the Nationalist Party has made itself vulnerable to that tactic, by allowing itself to be- come too internally divided on such issues? I wouldn't say it has become 'too internally divided'. There are differences of opinion within the Nationalist Party, yes; but the PN has always been home to different opinions. And this is something I feel we need to retain… What if those differences turn out to be irreconcilable? But the PN is a political party; you don't have to 'get married' to it. You don't need to agree, 100%, on everything. I think we should move away from this tribalist mentality, whereby support for a party means absolute agreement on everything…. Best foot forward… Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt The election of a new party leader seems to have galvanised the Nationalist Party, especially among younger supporters. But will this new- found optimism truly herald a new beginning for the PN? MZPN secretary-general EMMA PORTELLI BONNICI is optimistic about the first steps taken so far