Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/835410
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 JUNE 2017 13 Interview Outgoing PN deputy leader MARIO DE MARCO analyses the Nationalist Party's defeat in last week's elections, and calls for a 'calm discussion' on strengthening the country's institutions all parties. The PN has, and must always have, its own agenda irre- spective of any individual: whoever that may be... But it didn't seem that way before the election. Take away those allegations, and there wouldn't have been much left of the PN's campaign. Do you think it was a mistake to rely so heavily on a single set of allegations, especially considering that some were unproven? There was more to the PN's campaign than the corruption al- legations. The PN stood for the message of good governance; the independence of the institutions... messages which, to be fair, the in- dependent media were relaying, too. Many independent journal- ists, including in MaltaToday, had the same agenda... I don't think it was dictated to them by any indi- vidual. I think it was more a case that their agenda ran parallel to that of Forza Nazzjonali, because their concerns and ours were the same. When you look at the likes of Michael Briguglio, a former AD chairman, publicly giving his support to FN... expressing grave concern with the lack of good gov- ernance, and the failure of our in- stitutions... I don't think Briguglio, or any of the people arguing the same way, was simply following the lead of a blog. We were all ex- pressing common concerns. This is the way I think we should see it. Coming to the aftermath: Simon Busuttil and the entire PN executive (yourself included) have resigned, paving the way for new leadership. But a petition is now circulating for him to reconsider. Should Simon Busuttil reconsider... and does that mean that all the executive may do likewise? Let me start by saying that Si- mon Busuttil did an extremely good job in extremely difficult circumstances. He has successful- ly re-organised the party; he has put the PN on a more solid finan- cial footing; and I think – if you look also at the wave of sentiment coming through during the cam- paign – he has also re-energised the party. He managed to create hope, where there was little hope before... But wasn't it an illusion of hope? It is true that the result was not the one that any of us hoped for... which is why Simon, and the whole party leadership/adminis- tration, accepted the responsibil- ity and resigned. In other words: yes, we recognise our failure. We recognise the fact that, not only did we did not win, but the dif- ference between the two parties remains effectively what it was. That is why we resigned, and said we would not re-contest our posts... This leaves the question of who the next leader should be. Or at least, what type of person. What, in your opinion, are the qualities that the Nationalist Party should be looking for in its choice of leader? I think the most important qual- ity, for any leader of any party, is that he or she must be first and foremost a bridge-builder: a person who can reach out to different ele- ments within the party; and even more so, to different elements and interest groups that exist within Maltese society. Within the party, as you know, there is a conserva- tive dimension... but also a strong liberal element. These often come together when you have a cause within the country that goes be- yond partisan concerns. At other times, however, there is tension between them. I think Simon man- aged to effectively balance those two dimensions. But it's never an easy task. On a broader level, any effec- tive leader must also be a person that can reach out to the Maltese population, irrespective of political creed. Because the reality is also that today, elections are no longer won or lost by your own party sup- porters... but by the way you reach out to that ever-growing middle- ground of people who have no po- litical affiliation whatsoever. They probably never had any political affiliation; they simply vote for whom they deem to be... in their own best interests, yes; but also, undeniably, in the best interests of the country. That is an important consideration. Secondly, we need a leader who inspires people, and whom people look up to. A motivator, and a per- son who can represent the nation's aspirations. Lastly, the new leader must also be someone capable of empowering the party grass-roots. At the end of the day, these are the people who drive the party for- ward. the storm