Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1522936
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 JUNE 2024 5 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY Did you expect last Sun- day's result? Before the election we always said the survey that counts is the election. We worked towards getting people out to vote, and to convince people to vote for the PN. The night before the election, would I have predicted that vote gap? I would not quote that number, but we had laid out our goals which were to halve the vote gap and to elect the third seat. Some people had not believed us and were thinking we were overly ambitious to aim towards halving the vote gap. In reality we worked for it and it was all hands on deck and we were able to get that result. Do you think we should have a fairer system when it comes to energy subsi- dies? Why should a rich individual enjoy the same level of subsidies as some- one who lives pay cheque to pay cheque? The way the unit system works, those who waste more, pay more… Yes, but shouldn't the mon- ey spent to subsidise well- off individuals, be re-di- rected towards the people who really need it? But why does the conversation always revolve around redistribution of this money, rather than how we should take the money from those who are stealing from us and those who are wasting it? We should not at the first hurdle, start speaking about redistribution. The first thing we should do is take back that wasted money, and then yes, if need be, we should start discussing redistribution to the people who might need it. How will the PN be able to attract the liberal vote? Do you think liberals fear the PN might retract certain rights which were intro- duced by Labour in the past decade? The PN has already said it will not reverse any new rights which were introduced. But I think the difference between the two parties is clear – with us what you see is what you get. If the PN speaks about abortion, you might not agree with its stand, but that stand does not shift. On the other hand, you have Robert Abela who before he was elected leader said he was against abortion, and then wanted to introduce it, and then when he had internal issues, he went back on his position. But on the issue of abor- tion – why does the PN just close its doors to anyone with a different position on it… I don't agree with you. When we issued our position on the abortion Bill, we sat down and discussed the issue with the parliamentary group. The decision was not imposed, and everyone had to stick by it. But I must also say that I am sure people who want abortion legalised in the country, do not want the issue to be used as a fallback when you have a problem facing the party. In 2022, Bernard Grech said the PN was €32 million in debt. Has that figure gone down? It has. Can you give me any fig- ures? We can give a clearer indication in the coming weeks. While it might seem strange, the PN does not have a debt problem, it has a cashflow problem. It has more assets than debt. Loans have always been paid in the past 12 years, and for sure we are moving in the right direction.