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7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JUNE 2026 ANALYSIS Party. As Alex Borg seeks to broaden the PN's appeal, the party must decide whether it wants to become choice that may eventually become unavoidable. James Debono reports social inclusion while remain- ing centre-right on economic issues. Such a transformation would align the party more closely with mainstream Euro- pean centre-right parties and could help attract younger ur- ban voters. The challenge is obvious. It risks alienating sections of the party's traditional base, who al- ready feel uncomfortable with rapid social change. It also risks creating an opening on the right of the PN which could find a charismatic face in people like Borg Manche, who before MEP elections had identified with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), a conserva- tive right-wing outfit which is in competition with the EPP in countries like Poland. Moving towards conservatism The second option is a gradual shift towards cultural conserva- tism in an attempt to win back working-class and socially con- servative voters from Labour. This would not necessarily in- volve repealing Labour's social reforms. Instead, it would mean giving greater prominence to concerns about migration, na- tional identity and what con- servatives describe as "gender ideology". Rights would be for- mally respected while the so- cial legitimacy and visibility of minorities become increasingly contested. Many right-wing parties across Europe have adopted versions of this strategy. Some even portray themselves as de- fenders of gay rights against perceived threats from Mus- lim migrants while remaining deeply sceptical of transgender rights and broader challenges to traditional family structures. From a purely electoral per- spective, this path cannot be dismissed. The global right- ward drift of recent years has exposed the fragility of rights that once seemed permanently secured. Yet it carries considerable risks. Combined with the will- ingness of some PN exponents to entertain conspiracy theories about foreigners influencing elections, it could push both the liberal centre and the prin- cipled left towards Labour as the only credible defender of an open society. Living with the contradiction The third option is to avoid choosing altogether. Under this scenario liberals and conservatives remain in what is essentially a marriage of convenience, united by the overriding objective of replac- ing Labour in government. The burden then falls on the leader to keep both factions sat- isfied. Borg has already shown a capacity for this type of politi- cal juggling. He understands that neither liberalism nor con- servatism exists in a pure form within the Maltese context. Many PN liberals remain un- comfortable with aspects of Pride celebrations and oppo- sition to abortion often tran- scends the conventional liber- al-conservative divide. Equally, some nationalists regarded as liberals in Malta would appear relatively conservative by conti- nental European standards. The result is a uniquely Mal- tese synthesis that may be un- tidy but electorally functional. A choice deferred Ultimately, Alex Borg comes from the more conservative wing of the party. But he also possesses the instincts of a pol- itician who understands what victory requires. Expect him to move further right on migration while con- tinuing to walk a tightrope on most other social issues. Party unity, after all, remains an elec- toral necessity. The danger is that this strategy merely suppresses rather than resolves the underlying con- flict. Liberal voters remain sus- picious. Conservatives remain uncertain about how much in- fluence they actually wield. The PN's problem is not sim- ply Conrad Borg Manche. It is that his comments have high- lighted a question the party has been postponing for more than a decade. What exactly does the Nation- alist Party stand for in a post- EU accession era, post-divorce, post-Christian democratic Mal- ta? The difficulty is that the mo- ment the party finally answers that question, it risks losing part of the coalition it needs to win. What exactly does the Nationalist Party stand for in a post-EU accession era, post-divorce, post-Christian democratic Malta? conservatives and liberals under one tent? Under this scenario liberals and conservatives remain in what is essentially a marriage of convenience, united by the overriding objective of replacing Labour in government