Alex Borg's first real test: ‘Fresh and bold’ or ‘copy and paste’?

Alex Borg’s first real test as opposition leader came on Monday night, as he delivered the Nationalist Party’s response to the budget.

Reactions to the speech of the leader elected last September have been mixed. While many praised his confident delivery, others said he fell short of the mark.

Setting out his party’s alternative vision for the country, Borg presented 50 proposals in his speech, from the Child Trust Fund to calling for a mass transport system.

Times of Malta spoke to political strategy experts to assess whether this was the debut of a rising star, or if his first big performance backfired.

Chris Peregin

‘Engaging, confident and authentic’

PR consultant and former PN chief strategist Christian Peregin saw parallels between Borg’s two-hour speech and former Labour leader Joseph Muscat’s early years as opposition leader.

“His delivery was very compelling, reminiscent of Joseph Muscat’s early performances, yet it felt more authentic. Alex Borg appears more comfortable in his own skin than Muscat ever was, and he projects a genuine concern for individuals in need,” he said.

Back in 2011, Muscat, then still opposition leader, had also presented 51 proposals in his reply to the budget.

Peregin said he was “pleasantly surprised” by Borg’s performance, describing it as “engaging and substantive” and the opposition leader as “assertive without being abrasive, witty at the right points – particularly when the other side was heckling him – and composed throughout, exuding confidence but not arrogance”.

Despite the praise, he noted room for improvement, particularly in refining the narrative on complex problems like improving the quality of tourism and tackling overpopulation.

Peregin warned that while Borg remains the underdog, “it would be a big mistake to underestimate him”.

He concluded, with the speech the PN will, “finally be presenting the country with a credible and energetic alternative government”.

Nigel Vella

‘Lacking gravitas, research’

Labour Party candidate and the government’s former deputy head of communications Nigel Vella made the same comparison to Muscat, but not in the same light as Peregin. Sharing a photo of the former Labour leader on social media, Vella described Borg as a “copy and paste leader”.

“It’s clear that the leader of the opposition has no style or ideas of his own. Like some around him, Alex Borg is an expert at copying,” he said.

Vella was also critical of Borg’s tone, describing it as “two whole hours of shouting and fist pounding”.

Daniel Micallef

Former Labour deputy leader for party affairs and president Daniel Micallef said he would have assumed that a full week since the budget speech would have been enough for Borg to compile a reply, grasp the content, and focus solely on delivery.

“Not even the best delivery could have masked the lack of gravitas in his reply,” he added.

Micallef described the speech as “poorly researched, contained contradictory arguments, and at times was factually wrong”.

He pointed to inconsistencies in Borg’s tourism proposals, noting that at one point Borg was harping on about quality tourism, and the next second questioning if the €1.50 bed tax would drive people away.

He also said Borg appeared unaware that pensions are not taxed.

“I expected much better from the leader of the opposition,” Micallef added. “Had you asked me two months ago – after so much talk throughout the summer – I think most people would have expected far better from Alex Borg in his first major test.”

According to Micallef, Borg revealed a “total lack of leadership”, a shortcoming he said was visible again during Tuesday’s chaotic parliamentary sitting when the prime minister delivered his reply.

Alessandro Farrugia

‘PN can win again’

Lawyer and former PN communications director Alessandro Farrugia heaped praise on Borg’s debut, calling the speech “fresh, bold, sharp and confident”.

“It was constructive rather than combative, socially attuned and focused and projected a human-centred economic model and not one merely based on statistics.”

Despite criticism from the government benches, Farrugia said the performance goes on to show why the PN can win again, adding that Borg’s speech offered “a vision of social mobility reflecting the PN’s continued commitment towards the common good while mirroring a new generation of energy and ideas”.