Partit Demokratiku Discusses Name Change As Part Of Strategy To ‘Reinvent’ The Party
Partit Demokratiku could soon change its name as part of a plan to reinvent the party and widen its appeal among the Maltese public.
Lovin Malta is informed that one of the options being pushed is to rebrand the party as ‘Forza Nazzjonali’, the name of the PD-PN coalition of the 2017 election which successfully saw Farrugia and his partner Marlene Farrugia get elected to Parliament.
PD leader Godfrey Farrugia confirmed such discussions are underway, arguing that all options are open at this stage and that the party wants to be inclusive, not exclusive.
“In politics, names are never just names, but they carry a story,” he told Lovin Malta yesterday.
Godfrey Farrugia with his partner, and fellow PD MP Marlene Farrugia
However, he said the discussions go way beyond a cosmetic rebranding and are part of a wider strategy to shake up the party, which achieved dismal results in last May’s elections.
The ‘Orange Party’ only won 5,276 votes at the European Parliament election, out of which 3,053 went to environmental activist Cami Appelgren, who has since resigned from PD. Moreover, it failed to get a single local councillor elected.
Following the results, Godfrey Farrugia said he will resign as leader but stay on as caretaker until a new leader was chosen, while a steering committee would be set up to analyse the result and pave the way forward for the party.
“PD seeks to break out of its pupa stage and to metamorphose into a wider reaching entity,” Farrugia said.
If the small party does change its name to ‘Forza Nazzjonali’, it will be a clear sign of its intent to attract PN voters disillusioned by its leader Adrian Delia. After Delia won an internal confidence vote last weekend, the PD pledged to do its utmost to ensure “an honest and credible political force is indoctrinated”.
READ NEXT: BREAKING: Godfrey Farrugia To Resign As Partit Demokratiku Leader After Disappointing Result
