Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1534195
10 OPINION maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 APRIL 2025 MALTA stands at a crossroads, yearning for change. But true progress demands more than just swapping one set of famil- iar faces for another. We must confront the hard truth: the Nationalist Party (PN), as it stands, cannot by itself bring the transformative change our islands desperately need. The recent incisive article by Dr. Kevin Cassar focusing on PN MP Alex Borg appears to have struck a nerve within the Nationalist Party, prompting defensive reactions that strug- gled to effectively counter the strong criticism. Against this backdrop, a familiar pattern seems to repeat itself, tragical- ly clear in recent events such as the vote on Fort Chambray. Here, the young PN MP, Alex Borg, despite rhetoric of re- newal, voted in favour of a de- velopment mired in controver- sy, where contractual breaches and overly generous conces- sions were ignored. This vote was not cast in favour of Gozo or its people, but along with the lies on Borg's part, perpetuates the cycle of overdevelopment threatening to suffocate our is- lands. This was a vote cast against the interests of Maltese citi- zens. The party's public silence on such a critical issue speaks volumes, and is only now bro- ken to defend the indefensible. The irony became starker when several PN figures lat- er signed a petition to protect Chambray, after Alex Borg and his colleague Stanley Zammit had already cast the decisive vote in favour of the develop- ment, the vote that truly mat- tered. This is not an isolated in- cident. It's symptomatic of a deeper malaise within the PN set up. When faced with crit- icism, whether from NGOs exposing factual inaccuracies or commentators highlighting alarming sympathies with divi- sive, Trumpian-style rhetoric, the reaction is to defend the party line, rather than to up- hold principle. This is precisely why the PN alone cannot break the stran- glehold of greed and poor de- cision-making that consistently sells the Maltese public short. Time and again, when integrity demands a stand, whether it is on Chambray, on Manoel Island or on the relentless encroach- ment of concrete, the party ei- ther falls silent or, worse, aligns itself against the public good. We know there are individu- als within the PN who disagree, who genuinely care, yet they are consistently forced to betray their conscience for party unity. This is not strength; it is a crit- ical weakness. As the next elections draw closer, we anticipate a famil- iar, cynical strategy: a drift to- wards populist, divisive rhet- oric targeting immigrants and foreigners, attempting to dis- tract from the core issues while maintaining cosy relationships with powerful business inter- ests. This is not leadership; it is a recipe for further division and stagnation. Momentum acknowledges the urgent need for a change in government. People ask why we don't simply join forces with the PN. The answer lies in these fundamental differences. We refuse to compromise on our core values: • Integrity: Politics must serve the people, not vest- ed interests. • Environmental Steward- ship: Our natural and built heritage is priceless, not a commodity for spec- ulators. • Social Justice: We stand against division and advo- cate for the dignity of all residents. • Transparency: Decisions must be made openly and with clear accountability. Though we can work with the PN to deliver the future Malta deserves, we can never be part of a party that consistently demonstrates it is unwilling or unable to champion these principles when it truly counts. Momentum respects and sup- ports the many NGOs that have consistently fought for our en- Selling Malta short: Why the PN on its own cannot be trusted to deliver real change Mark Camilleri Gambin is Momentum Secretary General. Mark Camilleri Gambin Opposition Gozo spokesperson Alex Borg (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)