Former Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil will be heading to Brussels to assume the role of secretary general of the European People’s Party. His mission is not over. 

You have just taken up a post in Brussels, as secretary general of the European People’s Party (EPP). Is this a sign you have moved on from Maltese politics?

To a certain extent, it is. However, I am ‘Simon’ in Malta and I can assure you I will remain ‘Simon’ in Brussels. First of all, I will most definitely use my position to try to restore the credibility of our country, which as we all know has been completely shattered. And secondly, I want to make sure that Europe continues to shine a spotlight on our country.

I strongly feel that one of the fundamental reasons why we joined the European Union was precisely to make sure our democracy does not face the tribulations it faced over the past years. So, I will make it part of my mission, no doubt, to keep a watchful eye on my country, both to restore our reputation, but also to make sure that what has happened is truly and definitely addressed.

So are we to expect the EPP to focus more on Malta?

While I have long expected the entire EU to have a stronger spotlight on Malta and I feel, I think, like many others disappointed that the EU was not quick enough to address our concerns. Well, thankfully, under the new commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, it is clear that the Commission is changing tack. It is clear that the Commission now is fully aware what has been happening in Malta and wants to see things change. So, in a way, I will be continuing along a line that is already there.

But yes, I will certainly make no bones about this. I am going to be there as a Maltese and as a Maltese I want to be proud, once again, of my country. Unfortunately, over the past seven years Joseph Muscat managed to shatter our country’s image, reputation and we have lost our sense of pride as a nation. We need to get that back.

In recent years, whenever PN MEPs had tried to highlight problems in Malta, they were accused of mudslinging, and of targeting Malta but then not speak up about issues in other countries. Do you think you will be accused of the same things?

Well, that is a tactic that is very common among populist politicians. Politicians like Joseph Muscat, Donald Trump, and some others in Europe as well would attribute to the people criticising them, or to their political enemies, the adjectives that would best fit their own actions.

I’ve seen this personally from Joseph Muscat for the past years. One example is the one you mentioned that whenever we speak out in Malta, or indeed our MEPs speak out to Brussels, they get labelled as traitors. But people who are following us now know exactly who the real traitor was. They know exactly who has brought the country to its knees. Because let’s face it, the situation our country finds itself in is completely unacceptable, by any standards, let alone the standards of a modern European democracy that we should be and that we deserve to be.

Since the fallout from the investigation into the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder we’ve seen your supporters, as well as people within the Nationalist Party who had doubted you for some time, say Simon Busuttil has been vindicated. Do you feel that way?

Yes, obviously. It is one thing for me, having been the constant target of attack by the Labour Party, the government and the Labour Party’s friendly media and its own media. But it’s another thing, of course to have, let’s say, certain lack of support from my own party.

So, I did feel this. But I think I’ve learned the hard way that this is part of the political game and I don’t bear any grudge whatsoever about it. I always felt when that happened, then it is for me to work harder to persuade those people who are not necessarily persuaded, on both sides.

It was an uphill struggle, and this is not something I have done on my own, far from it. I was just one of many that included, certainly, civil society – a blessing that has come out of all of this – and of course the media, the truly independent media.

We’ve seen you attend most of the protests and you’ve actually been at the forefront of all this. Does the move to Brussels mean you won’t be as involved as you were in recent months?

First of all, it must be clear my appointment is a political one – a secretary general of a political party. Which means that my role will be eminently political, and I will certainly remain a politician and speak about political issues.

Clearly, I will speak about the European political issues, but Maltese issues are European issues, so I will not shy away from my own country and from speaking out until things change in Malta.

For too long, for under a quarter of a century of PN rule in this country, we had assumed normality was there to stay

And yes, I will still be participating in the events of the civil society. I have to stress that one of the silver linings that we’ve had in this very, very dark and cloudy horizon was precisely the birth of civil society, of true civil society in our country. For too long we had taken our democracy for granted in Malta. For too long, we had forgotten, even how to protest in our country.

I recall, the first national protest against corruption that I called immediately after Daphne’s revelations on the Panama Papers back in February 2016. [Nationalist MP and former deputy leader] Beppe Fenech Adami was next to me and we were half-seriously and half-jokingly saying: ‘Goodness me. People don’t know how to shout in protest, how to chant protest words.’

And it seemed almost funny were it not for the fact it was serious. And that can only be explained by the fact that for too long, under a quarter of a century of PN rule in this country, we had assumed that normality was there to stay. We thought we could take our democracy for granted.

And when Joseph Muscat came along, we gave him the benefit of the doubt for too long and that is what ruined our country. I think we should have stopped, as a country, giving Joseph Muscat the benefit of the doubt, the moment Daphne revealed the existence of secret companies in Panama.

Because, let’s face it, there can only be one reason why a top minister, and why a prime minister’s chief of staff would open a secret company in such a secretive jurisdiction, and that is called corruption.

And it’s not over. Joseph Muscat defended them for so long and in such an unacceptable and unforgivable manner that he has rendered himself a full accomplice to their crimes. So, this is not just about Keith Schembri’s corruption or Konrad Mizzi’s corruption. This is also about Joseph Muscat’s corruption and when we speak about bringing them to justice we expect all three of them to be brought to justice.

And that is the single most important challenge for the new prime minister.

You still had a number of followers within the Nationalist Party who were still backing you and who were supporting you even after stepping down as Opposition leader. Have you given up on the Nationalist Party?

Well first of all, I am a former leader of the Nationalist Party and I’m extremely proud of that. It’s been a privilege for me to lead our party, even though it was during some turbulent years for the country and for myself.

But I will always have the Nationalist Party in my heart. As the secretary general of the EPP, I will be effectively leading a party in which the PN itself is a member. So, you really cannot detach and disconnect the PN from the EPP. In that sense, politically, mine will be a continuation.

As to those that you call the people who continued to support me. Allow me to reject that assertion. I think the people who are called as the ‘Simon faction’ or some have called them the ‘Daphne crowd’.

Others have ridiculously called them the ‘Barra brigade’. Call us what you will, I’ve had a great deal of labels. But I think the bottom line remains that these people were not there because of ‘Simon’, they were not there because of ‘Barra brigade’. Perhaps they were not even there just because of ‘Daphne’ as a person.

People who are following us now know exactly who the real traitor was

They were there because of a cause that was sparked by the assassination of Daphne, but even bigger than her. Daphne’s legacy whether we like it or not, is even bigger than her and, than any one of us. Those people who have militated so courageously over the past two years, following her assassination, have been fighting for a cause. That cause will live on, regardless of Simon. It will continue and I will still play my small part to make sure that it does.

Your relationship with Adrian Delia did not start off on the right foot, even though it seems to have improved in recent months. Are you ready to work closely with Dr Delia in the future?

It is no secret that there have been some hitches in my relationship with Adrian because it’s out in the public domain. However, ever since Adrian was elected as party leader I have refrained from making any public statements – bar the incident that there was on the Egrant affair – about Adrian, still less against Adrian.

He is the leader of the Nationalist Party… he is the leader of the Opposition and it is his responsibility to lead the show. I’ve had that fair share of responsibility, I carried it out. It’s not for me to make statements about Adrian. For as long as he is party leader, he is the person I would work with even as secretary of the EPP.

What are some of the things that you would like to achieve in this new role? Aside from the situation in Malta, are there any other pressing issues you’d like to address?

I never thought I would end up in politics and my political career started off because of the European Union. My initial foray in public life was because of Malta’s application to join the EU and being part of the accession process. So, my real passion is the European cause. I am a great believer in unity in Europe, because I think that that is for the advantage of Europeans, but it’s also for the advantage of us Maltese who come from the smallest member state.

We’re a country of half a million, so I think it is hugely in our interest to be part of something bigger, and the EU offers us the opportunity to be part of something bigger without having to give up on our identity, which we are so proud of. So, I will be going there as a convinced European and I would like to see that the primary political goal of the EPP of having a stronger Europe that serves the people is achieved.

Slogans are nice, but my interest is to make them work in practice. We all know that Europe is facing a huge challenge in what is seen as a detachment from the citizens. Populists are exploiting this detachment and we have seen this resulting in Brexit in the UK. This can only be defined as the fate of a country that came about because populists exploited the detachment between Europe and European citizens. If Europe had done more to be close, to be seen to be serving its own citizens, Brexit would never have happened. We need to make sure that not only will Brexit not be repeated elsewhere but that citizens rediscover the true meaning of a united Europe and of being European.

You said this about Malta and about Brexit: “If Europe had done more…” Do you feel that is something that needs to improve, and will you be trying to change this through your new role? How?

Absolutely. I think that when it comes to the values of the European Union, that include democracy, include justice, include the rule of law… they are written in Article Two of the treaty. So, it’s not like these are values that the EU should shy away from. These are its own fundamental values. Well, now it’s the time to tell member states that you need to decide. If you are in the European Union, you need to uphold our common values. You are not forced to be in the European Union, but if you want to be in this club, these are our values and you need to uphold them. I would like to see the EU be more assertive on its values, because these are values ought to be proud of.

Would you ever return to Maltese politics or is this a closed chapter for you?

Well, I say: never say never.