Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1428470
Now: I don't think I need to explain why the (probably mi- croscopic) 'pro-choice' seg- ment of PN supporters would have been profoundly dis- mayed to hear their party lead- er say that; but what about the 'pro-life' segment? How did it sit with them? Suffice it to say that – very predictably – their collective reaction sounded a whole lot like… this: "Great! That's just what we wanted to hear!" [One of them even added: 'And about bloody time, too!']. "So… um… when does the witch-hunt begin? When do the likes of Emma Portelli Bonnici and Stephen Spiteri (and we could add Jamie Vella and Christian Peregin, too) finally get hauled up by the scruff of their necks, and unceremoniously booted out of the Nationalist Party, once and for all?" (which, after all, is ex- actly what Bernard Grech has only just, very clearly, prom- ised to do?) Do I even need to go on? Two days have elapsed since Grech's declaration (four, by the time you read this)…. and not only are the above pro-choice can- didates/members all still active within the PN, in their respective former roles… but at least two of them (Portelli Bonnici and Jamie Vella: but not, at the time of writing, Christian Peregin) have since made 'very clear' public declarations of their own. Reading between the (many) lines of the Portelli-Bonnici's reaction… and disregarding how she herself may have in- tended it to mean – there is only one plausible interpreta- tion, really. "Actually… I'm not going an- ywhere at all, thank you very much. I'm staying right here, where I am – without, please note, even changing my own position on the subject of abor- tion, either…". About the closest she came to anything resembling a 'con- cession', was a promise that she 'would not work towards introducing abortion' as a PN candidate. (And let's face it: it's kind of meaningless, really… seeing as it was never even on the cards to begin with.) So as far as I can see – and to stick to that unnecessary tennis analogy I started with – that not only 'returns Bernard Grech's serve' with spectacular ease; it also makes it 'advantage to Portelli Bonnici'… and, quite possibly, a 'match-point', too. What options does it even leave Bernard Grech with, I wonder? Is he going to con- vene an extraordinary meeting of the PN's Executive Council (you never know; it's happened before) to get rid of her? Or is he going to turn to the very people he was trying to please, with that ill-advised comment of his… and say: "Sorry, folks, but… I was only kidding …" And that's just the start. Al- ready, one Nationalist can- didate – Hermann Farrugia – has publicly called for a re- peal of the 'free contraception' promise (for reasons which are, to boot, logical, natural extensions of Grech's own ar- gument). So it seems that the 'pro-life' brigade – for want of a better expression – are also making themselves abundant- ly clear: Bernard Grech has 'talked the talk', yes; but now, they also expect him to… um… 'walk the plank'. But one other question that a lot of Nationalists I know (and trust me: a know a LOT) are currently asking is: why is the PN leader even trying to pander to that particularl lobby in the first place? Why is he choosing between two 'extremes' (though to be honest: the adjective on- ly really applies to one side), instead of doing what any for- ward-looking, 21st century leader would do, in these cir- cumstances… and appeal to the much broader segment of 'mod- erates' in the middle? For what it's worth, my own answer to that is… 'Gee, who knows? I haven't the foggiest idea…' But whatever my own opinion in the matter: one thing is certain. 'Abortion' has already fallen far, far beneath the radar of national discus- sion; after this extraordinary turn of events, the real number one issue of concern is… 'lead- ership'. And if you ask me: we've seen a lot more of that coming from a young, inexperienced pol- itician over the last few days alone… than from the real Op- position leader, over the past 14 months. 'Nuff said. 11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 NOVEMBER 2021 OPINION It is, of course, an open secret that many Nationalist Party supporters out there – quite possibly, the vast majority – are 'uneasy' with the direction their party seems to be taking, specifically on the subject of abortion