The past decade was memorable for all the wrong reasons. It kicked off for me in the worst possible way with the death of my father in 2010. Had he still been alive he would have witnessed the rapid deterioration of matters close to his heart.

The Nationalist Party lost touch with the electorate, a factor which contributed to two massive general electoral defeats. The PN lost to a Labour Party which promised heaven on earth but delivered the very opposite. Over the past six years, Malta under Labour morphed to the point where most of us today feel alien in our own country. 

In many ways, we have gone back to where we were decades ago. We tend to forget that it took years of hard work to persuade our European partners and the international community that Malta is a trustworthy country deserving of equal rights.

Against all odds, Malta managed not only to become a member of the European Union but also to become a trusted country, capable of punching way above its weight. Today, our reputation is in tatters, broken to the point of being nearly irreparable. We are on the brink of becoming a blacklisted country with all the repercussions that this would entail. 

The reputation of the Police Force is back to the sorry place it was prior to 1987. The same can be said of other state institutions which have been hijacked by those in power.

The assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is the blackest of black spots in our nation’s political history and the Office of the Prime Minister is being investigated for its possible involvement in this assassination.

Political accountability, goodgovernance, meritocracy and transparency – which had been so flagrantly vaunted by the Labour Party prior to 2013 – have now disappeared from all political discourse.

Sometimes I get asked: “How would your father have reacted to all this?” I think he would have advocated hope, demanded justice and insisted uncompromisingly on the safeguard of the right to liberty in all its shapes and forms. There can be no unity without justice, without hope, without respect for our individual rights and freedoms.

We have been through difficult times before. We worked hard to change the country for the better, sustained by our faith in the maxim that truth will prevail. Without that hope back then, we would have given up. Without that same hope today, we will not manage.

The start of the new decade will be a pivotal political year. The Labour Party will elect a new leader. Some see hope in such change. Yet, it must be said that both contenders have political baggage that raises serious doubts on their suitability to hold the highest executive office of the country. 

They did precious little to stop our country from sliding down the slippery slope. When faced with a choice, they repeatedly supported the criminal gang that was leading the country. This makes them part of the problem and not the solution that our country needs. 

I see a difficult year for the Labour Party, a year of struggles between those who truly believe in the values of socialism and those who still wield the power behind the scenes. The new Labour prime minister will have to deal with this struggle while facing the country’s other pressing problems. Foremost among these is the economy slowdown and institutional meltdown.

We have been through difficult times before

The Nationalist Party has challenges of its own. In the past weeks and months, during the height of the crisis, the PN leadership acted with great responsibility and sensitivity. 

The decision made by Adrian Delia, fully supported by the PN’s parliamentary group, to publish the Egrant report was the correct one. The report sheds more light on the corrupt nature of Joseph Muscat’s government.

The 15 action points to strengthen democracy and good governance, approved by the PN’s General Council, if implemented can radically change for the better Malta’s political landscape. 

But to change the country, we must first make the necessary changes to the party, changes that can help us regain the trust of the electorate. I know that the drafting work on these changes, being spearheaded by Louis Galea, is nearing completion.

The reform of the Nationalist Party will happen at a time when the Labour Party will be struggling under the weight of its wrongdoing. This is a unique opportunity for the PN to emerge as an alternative government spruced by structures, policies and personnel that inspire trust. 

We need to listen more closely to the demands for change being made by civil society. Change to the political system, change to how power is wielded, change in the way we account to the abuse of power. Indeed, civil society has provided a silver lining to the dark end of the last decade. For we must hope for change. Change for hope.

If we want this decade to be better than the one that just ended, then everyone within the Nationalist Party, and all people of goodwill, must put aside personal differences and egos and focus on the one and only thing that should unite us all: the national interest.

It is only then that we clean up a mess created by the Labour Party in government. We did it before, we can do it again.

Mario de Marco is a former minister and a Nationalist MP.