Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/509499
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 MAY 2015 15 developments under this govern- ment, I'm not saying that everything has been bad. But people are realis- ing that a lot of things could have been done much better…" Some might argue that people made the same realisation before the last election, hence the result. In what ways has the Nationalist Party changed since then? "We are changing," Agius assures me with confidence. "We have opened up the party, made new movements, enlarged our general council from 900 to 1,500 people; we have changed the statute. We have a new shadow cabinet. Obviously there's been a change in leadership. We have new policy groups. There's been a complete transformation in the past two years… we have sorted out our financial situation, In-Naz- zjon, NET television…" It is news to me that the financial situation of the PN has been 'sorted out'. Does this mean the party's debts have been paid? "No. What I meant was that where we previously were losing money in the normal running of the operation, today at least we break even or make a profit. This way, the debt you men- tion can be slowly whittled down. But today, [PN media] employees are getting paid. We worked hard to achieve this: MPs, councillors, card-holding party members… they all helped financially, in the organi- sation of activities. We obtained re- sults financially, and also in terms of votes. And these came in the local elections…" Again David Agius stresses the im- portance of these elections for the party morale. "Imagine we didn't achieve those results. Then, we would be in difficulty. All the changes we've been through, all the different poli- cies, the image of the party, the new people… if none of that worked, then yes, we'd be in trouble. But that's not the case. The feedback we're getting even from house visits is that there's a good feeling out there for the Na- tionalist Party at present…" One other interesting repercussion of Debono's resignation is that it has indirectly opened up a vacancy for PN secretary general, as Chris Said will be stepping down to 'concen- trate on Gozo'. Agius has been men- tioned in connection with the post. Is he interested? "I will leave all my options open. I have been in the party for a number of years, I know how the party works, I am familiar with the internal struc- tures of the party… as a whip, I am in the executive as well as the adminis- trative council… so I know that it's a big, big job to do. It's not an easy decision. I will wait, I will analyse what's best for the party, and eventu- ally I will decide." Let us, for argument's sake, assume David Agius does put himself for- ward for the post, What would his top three priorities be as secretary- general? "My first priority would be to con- tinue on the positive wave we have today, and ensure that the PN is ready to administer this country. We have to give the people enough evidence, enough policy that we are ready to take on this job. Secondly, we have to strengthen the party by going to each and every locality, as we have been doing in the past weeks. I would like a party that is much, much more of a people's party…" Priority number three concerns the aforementioned financial situation. "The new secretary general will have to continue the work that Chris has started with regard to the sustain- ability of the party, with its media, with its employees… that has to be also on the agenda of the secretary general…" At the same time, couldn't the job also be interpreted as a poisoned chalice? On paper, the PN's chances of overturning a 36,000 vote deficit appear small. So wouldn't the new secretary general take the blame for what many consider (perhaps pre- maturely) to be an inevitable defeat? "We are all in the same boat. It's not a secretary general who would lose; it's not the leadership of the party that would lose… we would all lose, because we all work within the Nationalist Party. In my opinion we all have to strive to get back each and every lost vote, and to win new voters over. This is not a job for the leadership of the party, or the secre- tary general. "It's a job for all of us… including Gianna Borg who lives in Attard. Gianna Borg, who is a Nationalist, must help us to win the next elec- tion. And she has to feel it. If Gianna Borg doesn't feel it, then we're lack- ing. If Gianna Borg feels like we can win, then we will make it. Because Gianna Borg will go to the super- market, to the green grocer, to eve- rybody, and say: 'I believe in the Na- tionalist Party. I believe it can win…' That is when the Nationalist Party will win." I put it to him that his fictitious stereotype of a Maltese housewife is reminiscent of Simon Busuttil's memorable quote during the elec- tion campaign, when he urged voters to start arguments at the grocer's… David Agius smiles wryly. "Maybe we didn't go to the grocer often enough before the last election. Maybe Joseph Muscat went more often than we did. And maybe the Labour Party's people wanted to win much more than ours did. And they managed. Credit to them. "I believe that if the Nationalist Party works well together, just as we achieved positive results in the local council elections, we can carry on riding the crest of the wave by re- maining close to the people. It was one of the things we were criticised for most in the weeks, months and last few years before the last election: that we were disconnected from the people. We have learnt from our mistakes since then, and we are now obtaining results." Interview Is the Nationalist Party riding the crest of a wave that can propel it to victory in 2017? Party whip DAVID AGIUS certainly seems to think so from our mistakes PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD