What is most conspicuous with PN MP Alex Borg’s and candidate Maria Testaferrata Noto‘s attack on Manuel Delia is that PN still has come to terms with free speech, metaphors, art, satire, and anything literary that is not conventionally politically correct. It is no coincidence that Franco Debono seems to have the same antagonistic attitude to freedom of speech, and these attitudes also tie with other PN MPs who agree with the criminalisation of “offensive speech”. Then there is PN MP, Mark Anthony Sammut who has spoken in favour of the decriminalisation of all offensive speech.
These different positions on free speech in PN, of course, reflect a broader division between the conservatives and the liberals – a traditional PN divide that has existed ever since Post-War times and especially after Nerik Mizzi’s demise. What’s also very conspicuous is that those in PN who have an antagonistic attitude to free speech, are quite in convergence with Labour MPs who think the same, and ultimately are serving the Labour Party’s interests in controlling the public discourse.
Interestingly, both Alex Borg and Maria Testaferrata Noto are young PN members who are still in the process of forging the initial stages of their political careers. Another young PN MP who is still in the early stages of forging her political career is Rebekah Borg Cilia. Young PN MPs seem to be visually more interested in finding common interests with the Labour Party and its adherents for the sake of their political and personal careers than taking a direct opposing political stance both in action and in word against Labour. Undoubtedly, this is also partly causing a situation where the Opposition is mostly inactive and ineffective.
Being in Opposition means that one has to oppose the current party in office and work towards an alternative government. On the other hand, young PN candidates are increasingly being tempted by the benefits of converging with Labour making their oppositional role even more ineffective. There is a risk that PN becomes increasingly compromised if it becomes part of the Labour Party’s system of patronage.
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