Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1393937
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 JULY 2021 NEWS KURT SANSONE THE Nationalist Party is mum on the wage packet it has offered Lovin Malta founder Christian Peregin after he was roped in as chief strategist. Peregin has initiated the pro- cess to shed his shareholding in Lovin Malta, the media compa- ny he set up in 2016. Asked what wage will Peregin be receiving from the party, and whether this will be financed by the party or private donors, a PN spokesperson said: "These mat- ters are of a confidential nature." Peregin's engagement has caused consternation among PN employees, who had to shoulder the brunt of cost cutting as a re- sult of the party's financial diffi- culties over the past years. This newspaper is also in- formed that PN media employ- ees were concerned their jobs could be on the line when they learnt of Peregin's employment. The concerns were prompted by Peregin's campaign at Lovin Malta against the political par- ty media, which culminated in a constitutional case that is still ongoing. It remains unclear what inter- est Peregin will continue to have in the court case, now that he is involved with a political party that owns a TV and radio sta- tion. Peregin was roped in by party leader Bernard Grech as chief strategist in the run-up to the general election, which is ex- pected anytime in the next 11 months. Grech had to meet party em- ployees himself to allay their fears. A spokesperson for the party said the PN recognised the need to attract voters beyond its core, when asked what role Peregin will play. "The party it is welcoming any- one with good will and talent in its ranks. Mr Peregin will be tak- ing a leading role in the shaping and deployment of PN strategies to reach out to new voters with a view to becoming once again the natural choice of the majority of Maltese people," the spokesper- son said. PN mum on Peregin's wage as party employees raise concerns told her that on Independence Day the PN will be "switching on the party machine and we won't be switching it off until the election, which we intend to win". Muscat's impact was not felt. The general election in June 2017 caught the PN unpre- pared, disorganised and in a quandary, with a message that failed to resonate with the elec- torate. A lot has happened since then, including the brutal murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the prosecution of peo- ple close to power over murder, corruption and money launder- ing, and a global pandemic. Today's circumstances are different from 2017 and yet the PN has been unable to make in- roads. Peregin's engagement is an attempt to try and change this state of affairs but he will just be a cog in a large machine that requires the captain to first and foremost chart out the course ahead. Labour's soul-searching But Peregin's decision to publicly associate himself with the PN, while letting go of his successful business, should al- so prompt the Labour Party to carry out a soul-searching exer- cise. Peregin represents a cohort of people the PL had managed to painstakingly convince over a number of years to vote for it. He represents an Eng- lish-speaking, well-educated middle class that cherishes liberal values and which does not have a natural disposition to support Labour. Yet, many like him felt comfortable tran- sitioning to Labour during the Muscat years. Brushing off Peregin's public switch to the PN as a move by someone who has always been a Nationalist will be simplistic and counterproductive. The PL must ask itself why someone like him, who voted for it in 2013, publicly joined the PN at a time when its elec- toral prospects look very bleak. Peregin may have provided part of the answer in his wordy explanation to justify his own transition to PN when he said the government is not listening to its critics. Indeed, his analysis of the sit- uation may serve as a spring board for an honest apprais- al within the PL of the Joseph Muscat legacy, warts and all. Meanwhile, as Peregin swaps his Lovin Malta office at Bur- marrad with the Stamperija in Pietà, the PN will hope that this knight in shining armour will help shore up its prospects.