Vella’s history in the PN goes back to 2013, when he joined the party at one of its lowest moments, shortly after the election that it lost by 35,000 votes.

Only 16 at the time, he didn’t have contacts in the higher echelons of the party but he went about calling former ministers and MPs to offer his help

“I always saw the PN as the only major party which, to a certain degree, embraces European values and aspired to adopt a European style of politics in Malta,” he explained. “However, a lot of things were frustrating me about the PN and I felt it had become detached from society. I knew I could either stay at home and grumble or join the PN and lobby to implement the changes I wanted to see.”

Vella joined the PN’s youth wing MŻPN and was eventually placed within a small committee tasked with identifying 14-15 year olds who would be eligible to vote in the upcoming election.

“We formed an unofficial network called ‘New Voters’ and it grew from 20 youths to around 200,” he recounted. “It was a very satisfying role and this network played an integral role in helping the MŻPN get its message across during the 2017 election.”

Vella has openly advocated for open and mature discussions on issues such as abortion and the legalisation of marijuana for personal use and, while both issues run counter to PN policy, he said he always felt that his opinion was respected.

Things started to change when Adrian Delia announced he was running for PN leader, a race he would eventually win.

Vella was approached to join Delia’s campaign and indeed met up with him on several occasions in the hope that he could bring some fresh ideas to the party.

However, he started getting put off by Delia the moment he called Daphne Caruana Galizia “hysterical” in response to questions raised by the late journalist about his financial affairs.

“I started to see certain defence mechanisms which he would turn to whenever he felt cornered, which I didn’t like at all,” Vella said. “This wasn’t the European PN which I had grown to identify with.”

Shortly after Caruana Galizia’s assassination in 2017, the PN unveiled the slogan ‘Partit Pożittiv’ (A positive party), a move Vella found distasteful.

“I thought this was completely playing into the government’s narrative that those who dare criticise it or call out corruption are negative or traitors. That being positive means condoning corruption.”

“The timing of the slogan couldn’t have been more horrendous, a mere month or two after a journalist was assassinated in the worst political assassination Malta has ever seen.”

“There was this idea in the PN that the party had focused too much on corruption and didn’t deal with bread and butter issues, and while there might be some validity to that claim, we went to another extreme after Daphne’s assassination. We didn’t address the bread and butter issues, because I can’t remember a single policy proposal we came up with, but we were also much less forceful on corruption.”

Vella was one of the most critical MŻPN youths against Delia, but he hailed his colleagues for respecting his opinion.

“There were people I disagreed with completely but there was always maturity in our discussions,” he said. “When I saw the MŻPN’s reaction to the recent elections, I felt proud to see them taking a stance because they were never scared of taking bold decisions.”

However, the situation grew decidedly more hostile within the PN as a whole, perfectly reflected by the phone calls he would receive after liking certain Facebook posts.

“I think it boils down to a huge case of mismanagement, of not having a clear message which the party could identify with, and of adopting a frame of mind that every single person who dares show the slightest disagreement with you is out to get you or is a traitor,” Vella said.

“Combine that with the gross mismanagement, as well as with the apathy from activists who started taking a step back, and yes, I think it resulted in huge paranoia.”

Vella said he had raised his concerns to Delia on multiple occasions but eventually quietly resigned from the party and moved abroad after realising that nothing was going to change.

Now he’s returned to Malta with a sense of purpose, to help heal the gaping wounds within the PN and bring a sense of civility to discussions within the party.

“We keep hearing the same cliches and condescending attitudes that youths are just interested in stipends, sports and marijuana, but nowadays a lot of youths have legitimate concerns on other policies, such as those related to the environment.”

“If we ever really hope to tackle our national problems, youths must be at the forefront. Just look at Moviment Graffitti, they’re the perfect model of how young people can win public support if they come together with determination and a strong message. That’s something that’s lacking in the PN; when youths see a party preoccupied with infighting and not offering anything in return, then of course they’ll stay away.”

Vella’s advice to the PN to turn itself into a credible Opposition, and eventually an alternative government, is simple – a sense of civility and respect must be restored.

“In no other country are political parties revered with such adoration as they are here, so I think it’s good that people are criticising politicians from their own party. However, it must be respectful, and this is something which I’m putting myself to task on.”

“I publicly apologise if I’ve ever offended anyone in the way I’ve expressed certain opinions. I recently met a friend who works in the PN and who happens to have very different opinions to myself, and I started the conversation by telling him I’m sorry if I ever crossed the line in the way I communicated the message. It doesn’t mean I don’t believe in the message but that I’m sorry if I lost my sense of civility.”

“That should be the groundwork for any way forward for the PN and that’s what I’m working on. I’m no longer formally part of the PN for the time being but it doesn’t mean that I’m no longer involved. I want my next project to be about sitting down with all sorts of people, the more different from me the better, find that common ground and restore that civility.”

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