Times Talk: Lou Bondi and George Vital Zammit on what the PN must do to win

George Vital Zammit - a lecturer and political analyst tasked with writing the Nationalist Party's next election manifesto - is convinced.

The party's seemingly unending woes definitely do not spell the end of the once-powerful political force, he believes. It will continue to renew itself until it is back in power.

But former PN activist and broadcaster Lou Bondi is not so confident. If the party continues down this road, losing the next election would be "at least an existential challenge", he says.

This is how the latest Times Talk episode ended, after the two spent an hour analysing what the PN did so wrong to remain an ailing party 12 years after it fell from power, and what it can do to win the election again.

The episode was released on Saturday - just 24 hours before any interested candidate's final chance to throw their name in the hat, in a race that has already gotten off to a bumpy start.

Lou Bondi played a key role within the PN during its electoral heyday. George Vital Zammit was tasked by the party’s outgoing leader, Bernard Grech, with writing its electoral manifesto. And both have some ideas.

On debt, ruthlessness and how to win

As former leader Adrian Delia and newcomer Alex Borg attempt to persuade PN members that they are best placed to take the party forward, Zammit and Bondi discussed what they felt the new leader should do first.

"The PN has been campaigning for 12 years as if it is still in government, while Labour has been campaigning throughout this time as if it is still in opposition. It is still power hungry, which the PN is not," Bondi said, pointing out that while the PN was, for decades, the natural governing party, that is not the truth anymore, and that it is the PL which now basks in the glory of that privilege.

Zammit did concede the PN had a crucial communication problem, and that somehow, even its good ideas were not touching people's hearts, but said the government's power of incumbency and its willingness to take it as far as it could, also meant it had a much easier time convincing people.

Even when Joseph Muscat took the helm of a defeated Labour party after the 2008 election, the party was far from where the PN stands today.

Bondi said perhaps that is one of the reasons the PN seems to be stuck in its tracks - it was not as ruthless as it was in the 1980s.

Bondi also explained why he believes NET and ONE should close and what else should happen when they do.

And both attempted to address the PN's multi-million debt hole.

Watch the full debate in the video above and subscribe to Times Talk on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to make sure you don’t miss the next episode.