As he moves into his new office as PN secretary general, Charles Bonello tells Mark Laurence Zammit he wants the party to be more honest, humble and respectful.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

MLZ: How are you going to win the next election?

CB: We need to touch people’s hearts.

MLZ: How will you do that in practice?

CB: Honesty, humility and respect should propel us to electoral victory.

MLZ: So, does that mean the PN hasn’t been honest, humble and respectful so far?

CB: It has, but we need to be even more so. During the last 12 years in opposition we have managed to reform ourselves.

MLZ: That’s not what the polls indicate.

CB: The polls aren’t showing a 40,000-vote gap anymore. In the MEP election five years ago, we lost by more than 40,000 votes. This time we lost by 8,000. Do you mean to tell me that’s not a great improvement?

MLZ: The polls seem to be going in Labour’s favour again.

CB: There is always more work to do, and we have made mistakes. These past years we were humble, but not enough to get the desired result.

MLZ: From 1 to 10, how convinced are you that you can win the next election?

CB: A lot.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

MLZ: How much? 8?

CB: Even 9. I only need one thing – for all party entities and supporters to pull the same rope. If we manage that, we’ll move mountains.

MLZ: So, the issue is that people are pulling the ropes of their own interests?

CB: No, not at all. We need to improve ourselves to win. We are partly still losing because we made mistakes while in opposition. Had we avoided those mistakes, maybe we would be a few steps ahead today.

MLZ: Can you win the election with Bernard Grech as leader?

CB: 100%.

MLZ: Would you stand a better chance if Roberta Metsola were leader?

CB: Today we have Bernard Grech.

MLZ: But would you like her to come over?

CB: I won’t give you the satisfaction of a reply. Today we have Bernard Grech, and if I truly love the party, I must follow Bernard Grech. That was the choice of the party members and we should stick to their will. It’s not a question of whether there might be anyone else for the role. If you, Mark, were to be elected party leader tomorrow, I’m giving you my word I will be equally in support of you. If we really love the party we must follow the leader of the moment.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

MLZ: You were Lawrence Gonzi’s personal assistant.

CB: I will remain his personal assistant. I will do both jobs.

MLZ: While Gonzi did a lot of good for the country, his leadership contributed to people shifting from the PN and why the party lost miserably the first time in 2013. How can people watch you take this role and be attracted to the PN again?

CB: Mario de Marco, Beppe Fenech Adami and Chris Said are also Gonzi’s people. Do they also not have a place in the party?

MLZ: Some would say it’s also because of people like them that many voters moved away. But the point is you’re in one of the party’s most powerful seats, not them.

CB: Firstly, I always did what I felt was right, in my conscience. Although that doesn’t mean I was always right. Secondly, I’m not Gonzi’s man. I’m the PN’s man. If I were only loyal to Gonzi, I would have left the party after he left the helm. Similarly, if Gonzi were to turn to Labour tomorrow, I wouldn’t follow him. I acknowledge some people felt wronged by me when we were still in government. I acknowledge we did make mistakes, and I will get in touch with all people who feel this way. The door here is open to everyone.

MLZ: If it’s open to everyone, what place do Jason Azzopardi and Franco Debono have here?

CB: Everybody can play a role but I won’t speak about specific people because circumstances change over time.

MLZ: But can they be candidates again?

CB: We will have to decide on that if and when they make a request to join the party, according to the circumstances.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

MLZ: Over the past days there was a lot of talk over whether enough party members wanted you in the role. Word around here was that two other candidates were discouraged from running. That is not very democratic, to start with. Are you convinced you would have still won if they had not backed down?

CB: Nobody has those guarantees. The party leader encouraged me to contest, and I will now give my life to the role. But there is something else we must understand. A general secretary usually has a full term – from one general election to the next – to make their vision a reality. I don’t have that luxury, because the election is coming soon. I had no problem with anyone else joining the race, but in these circumstances, with an election around the corner, it was wiser for the role to be uncontested to avoid bruises between people in the party. I am friends with Liam Sciberras and Stefan Caruana and I will keep Caruana in his position as executive organisational secretary. He does good work and we have a good relationship, and likewise, I want to see Liam in the party structures. That’s how the party is open to everyone.

MLZ: The party is millions in debt. How will you pay it and by when?

CB: Firstly, Labour is in huge debt as well. Secondly, I can’t answer that question just yet. I walked in here just the day before yesterday and I need to take stock of what we have. Our main source of income is people’s donations. We have a telethon coming up Sunday [today] and I urge people to help. But we also have great potential in our properties. We have virtually nothing except a lot of property that costs millions. I have no desire or intention to sell clubs, but we need to make the best use of them. Don’t ask me what I will do with them, because I can’t commit to that just now. What I can tell you is that I want to maximise all of our properties’ potential, including Dar Ċentrali. We have three unutilised underground floors here. I also want to manage funds better, between covering today’s running costs and paying yesterday’s debts.

MLZ: When are you publishing your accounts?

CB: We’re working on it.

MLZ: We’re tired of hearing that reply.

CB: I promise you I’ll do my best to get us in line as soon as possible. And rest assured the people who were here before me also did all they could.

MLZ: Your party, like Labour, accepts hefty donations from businesses. No businessman will give you money because they believe in the party values. They want something back.

CB: Are you sure?

MLZ: Let’s say, that’s what 99% of them do.

CB: Then we’ll accept the donations of the other 1%.

MLZ: You wouldn’t survive if you did that.

CB: If a businessman deserves something by right, then we’ll give it to him, with or without his donation.

MLZ: But if he believed he had a right for it, he wouldn’t give you the donation in the first place.

CB: So, you think businessmen are happy to go abroad and tell fellow businessmen that he’s from a country known to be corrupt? Don’t you think it matters to them?

MLZ: Apparently, they don’t care that much. That’s what this past decade taught us. Or else, they managed to conceal it well enough to avoid tarnishing their reputation abroad. They did it with Labour, and they might manage to do it with PN as well.

CB: We are not perfect, but we are not corrupt either. Anyone who is somehow corrupt will not find any support here. I will not cover for anyone. I will do anything to help you if you make a mistake or are vulnerable, but if you deliberately did something wrong, you won’t find me there for you.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.