Leaf out of Peter & Paul

Never in its long history has the Nationalist Party ever had such a divided family as today.

Peter was a fisherman, Paul was a scholar. Although both concurred about the anointed One, both bore divergent points of view. Peter asserted that the Torah, the Jewish law, was to be firmly adhered to while Paul on the other hand was adamant about the new way. Both also had fervent adherents. For the first time, the Christian community was a divided house.

The Council of Jerusalem was summoned to address this daunting crisis. It turned out to be a healing experience. Peter and Paul become inseparable. Today, the feast of St Peter and St Paul is commemorated together as a sign of this cohesion. Can the Nationalist Party take a leaf out of this historical rapprochement?

If the elephant in the Labour Party’s room are the rampant allegations of corruption, systematic cronyism and the overt disdain to good governance, the PN’s elephant is found sadly in its current state of dissonance and competing undercurrents.

Although historically the PN was always a broad church, which jamborees various political strata of thought, never in its long history has the party ever had such a divided family as today. After the second consecutive drubbing and an internal acrimonious process in nominating its top brass, the party is not only experiencing an identity crisis – what does the party really stand for today – but alas a deep divide.

We need to be honest with ourselves and stop pretending otherwise. In my many years working with vulnerable people, the first step to recovery is always painful. It compels one to be candid and humbly accept the stark reality.

I do not pen this with glee. I write with apprehension. Many, middle-of-the-road Nationalist supporters share my genuine concern and have shared their perplexment. Maybe they are the silent majority of the party.

We toiled hard to become the Azerbaijan of the Mediterranean – a one-party State. Taking the attitude of the three monkeys, acting like an ostrich, adopting a siege mentality or being delusional with our accomplished glories will lead us nowhere except to more years in political wilderness. Citizens do not trust a divided party. We have already been there.

So, it is of paramount importance that, like Peter and Paul, we find courage to call a spade a spade, confront our self-made demons, address our shortcomings and together mould our future. Last year the party penned history. For the first-time ever, party delegates and paid-up members voted Adrian Delia as party leader. Although some had/have their reservations on the choice made, the fact remains that Delia is the democratic choice. He is now the legitimate leader of the PN.

Ironically, Delia and the Nationalist Party are experiencing what Jeremy Corbyn and the British Labour Party have/are experiencing on their own turf. But while Delia is doing his utmost to reach out to all, sadly the party’s structures are still suffering from a siege mentality. While it is short-sightedness for the ‘victorious side’ to act like the winner that takes all (it needs all hands on deck), the other side ought not to sulk, stamp feet or disrupt.

In the 1980s, Malta was an aggrieved nation. The then Nationalist Party underlined the value of national reconciliation to heal the wounds of division. The time is ripe for the PN to revisit, rediscover and experience the value of reconciliation within its own rank and file.

Reconciliation does not entail that you come over to my side. Neither does it mean that I cross over to yours. Reconciliation does not imply either that you stop being you or that I stop being me. True reconciliation means that we come together to solicit forgiveness for our wrongdoings. It means that together we accept constructive criticism and welcome critical thinkers without feeling insecure or threatened. Reconciliation means that together we put aside our pride and any self-gratification to give space to each other to grow.

Reconciliation implies that we map out our identity, vision and values based on today’s socio-economic realities. True reconciliation signifies that together we agree that we disagree and we feel it is ok too. Finally, reconciliation means that we stand as one.

I am sure that former party stalwarts, the likes of Tonio Borg, Joe Borg and Louis Galea, who still enjoy tremendous trust, ought to be called to coordinate the table of reconciliation.

This is my concrete proposal to my party. Hopefully it will not pass unnoticed. If we want to lead we need to be bold. It is our only option. It’s almost a do or die issue. We need to remind ourselves that we are contending with a strong, cohesive and monolithic Labour Party with all its power of incumbency. Let us remember the Italian adage that states that ‘while two dispute, the third enjoys’.

Personally speaking, I have no qualms in stating that I side neither with ‘Peter’ nor with ‘Paul’. I stand for the Nationalist Party. I am not alone.

Many do so with the understanding that we identify ourselves with its values, mainly those of social empowerment, equality, human dignity, solidarity, environmental sensitivity, business ethics and good governance.

The moment the party departs from these values, it is the day we part our way. Till then we will continue doing our very utmost to do Politics with the big ‘P’ even though we might be sidelined, censored or obstructed by those who prefer politics with the small ‘p’.

If Peter and Paul rose above their entrenched positions and sought common ground, why can’t we do the same? It is said, a divided house will not hold for long before it falls on itself.

It is in coming together that we are strong. We owe this to our party. We owe this to democratic Malta.

(This article was published on Times of Malta – 6 June, 2018)