‘PN Is Taking An Ultra-Conservative Turn’ – PL President Alex Sciberras
PL President Alex Sciberras said that Edwin Vassallo’s pledge to help the Nationalist Party is a sign that the PN is shifting towards an “ultra-conservative” direction.
“Edwin Vassallo is a man with firm and inflexible principles,” Sciberras said.
“I completely disagree with his positions but I acknowledge his consistency, and this is why his return to the PN is so significant.”
“When a politician with Vassallo’s profile feels comfortable militating in the PN, it can only mean that the party has shifted in the direction he has always wanted it to shift, an ultra-conservative direction that many people thought Malta had left behind.”
“And when this comes in the same week as Adrian Delia used the word ‘scary’ (tat-tkexkix) against communities which live and work with us, the picture becomes clear.”
“I’m not surprised that many moderate, young and professional PN activists and supporters feel that the party which had promised a new face is now returning to conservative and populist politics. Some are quietly distancing themselves while others are more vocal, and I understand them.”
Sciberras reminded people that Vassallo had opposed several major reforms during his tenure as a PN MP – including divorce, gay marriage, domestic violence legislation, and IVF reforms.
However, he stressed that this shouldn’t be viewed as a battle between right and left-wing politics, but “rather an issue of the type of country we want to build together”.
“I want to build a country where rights aren’t rolled back, where families aren’t judged, where people who contribute to the country are treated with respect, and where politics takes Malta forward and not back to battles of the past whose only aim is to divide us.”
Cover photo: Left: Alex Sciberras, Right: Edwin Vassallo