The PN: a party in crisis?

The PN has done a good job of show us all the way forward for a political party in crisis. It rightly adopted the need for good governance and transparency as its mantra. Unfortunately, however, the PN bigwigs seem to have taken the word “transparency” to a new level. It should be music to all us lovers of democracy but what has happened is that the PN has turned transparent itself and practically disappeared.

 

All seemed to be going splendidly when the Panama Papers scandal was unearthed. After the barrage of scandals which Joseph Muscat and his government were involved in, Panama was a ton of cherries on the proverbial cake. The PN rightly went on the assault and lanced away at Joseph Muscat and his closest, and tainted, buddies.

The PN were—again rightly—relentless in their opposition then. But even  some of their decisions were ludicrous. When Simon Busuttil cried shame and decided to issue an ultimatum, this turned out to be one of the most ridiculous scenes in modern local politics. Why threaten if you know you cannot deliver any bite to your threats?

The never-ending motions in parliament should have been handled much better. This sounds like nit-picking but it is a symptom of what the PN in opposition does, or does not do. It lacks a plan; it lacks cohesion; it lacks the master’s deft touch to know what the next move will be.

Proof of this is that, once the Panama débacle stopped attracting the right level of attention, the PN disappeared. They had no Plan B. They still sporadically attack Joseph Muscat and his team regarding this horror of horrors but, now that it has fizzled out and moved off the front pages, the PN fizzled out too.

The aggro, bravado, vim and zest they displayed while the going was tough for the government evaporated.

Joseph Muscat, who seems to have an indomitable hold on his party, ministers and MPs, decided to sit it out, wait for the public outcry to die and let it be forgotten or laid aside. And the Joseph Muscat stratagem worked brilliantly. The premier might have lost his sparkle and his smile but he shows no sign of having lost his knack for getting out of the tightest corners.

Do I know what, in these terrible—terrible for the country—circumstances the PN should be doing? I have no clue and I also doubt it is my remit to give these gems of advice. I seriously fear that even if given good advice Simon Busuttil and his advisers would not listen.

This is another failing of the PN. The drubbing from hell it received at the last election has still not taught it a lesson—to listen, to get out there and find out what people are saying. You hear it often that people try to reach out and are not chased for their words, their advice, or their laments.

In this day and age it is a monstrosity of impossible magnitude that the main party in opposition hardly has a presence on social media—where many potential voters need to be nurtured. The PN should be there—visibly and strongly so that voters, especially young undecided ones, can interact, criticise and create new strengths.

Social media should not be there just to pass on the latest speech by the leader; or to collect funds; or to advertise bingo mornings. Not even just to criticise the government and its ministers. The PN sometimes manages a whimper which is lame, unproductive, unpersuasive.

The party has been trying hard to show off its new credentials: of intolerance of any wrongdoing by any of its members. Yet the mayor of Victoria was immediately reinstated and the shadow minister for transport was not chided or fired for his misdeeds. These actions, or lack of action, by the PN when it suits them contrasts wildly with what they expect of the party in government.

The PN needs to reorganise, rebrand, re-find its strength if it is to be a true alternative to a party in government that oozes anything but good governance. The PN should be a party chosen for its strengths not merely as an alternative to the horrors of the party in government.

Democracy needs a strong, efficient, organised opposition not a transparent, flimsy one.