Watch: Franco Debono Urges Gonzi To Publicly Apologise And ‘Stop Ignoring People’s Pain’
Former PN MP Franco Debono has urged Lawrence Gonzi to issue a public apology to the thousands of people who left the party during his tenure as Prime Minister and haven’t returned to its fold.
In a new video message, Debono noted that the PN started losing elections by margins of over 35,000 votes under Gonzi’s watch, with surveys indicating that the party is set for a similar trashing at June’s election.
“When I published a post reaching out to people who left the PN during Gonzi’s tenure, a number of people spoke to me and said he hurt them, and that they haven’t returned to the party since then,” he said.
“When I asked them whether Lawrence Gonzi approached them since then to ask how they’re doing and offer some kind of reconciliation, many of them told me the same thing. Not only did he not try to reconcile with them, but many people told me he gave them the cold shoulder when they met him at a social event.”
Although it has been 11 years since the PN was in government, Debono warned that certain wounds are still raw and could well be reflected in the ballot box in June.
He also pointed out that Gonzi has remained active in the PN to a certain extent, notably calling for a leadership election in the midst of internal turmoil against former leader Adrian Delia in 2020.
“People weren’t allowed to criticise Gonzi when he was in charge, but then he himself led a revolt to cut Delia’s head off. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but it also shows that Gonzi is part of the present, not just the past.”
Debono said he is willing to meet up with Gonzi for a coffee whenever he wants but that the former Prime Minister cannot remain “closed off in a cocoon and adopt a siege mentality”.
“This will be reflected in the ballot boxes. People who left the PN because of Gonzi won’t appreciate anything more than reconciliation with Gonzi, with him approaching him and saying he might have thought a certain way back then but now understands he might have been wrong.”
“It cannot be that people keep saying that Gonzi gives them the cold shoulder. The PN cannot afford to keep giving hurt people the cold shoulder; it must face this pain and apologise. Even Gonzi, the first person to lose an election by 35,000 votes, should apologise where necessary. Will the world end? That’s the only way the PN can progress.”
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