Since the start of August (as of the time of writing), Bernard Grech’s Facebook page has published 46 posts, compared to only 14 posted by Robert Abela’s page.

The PN has published 31 posts in August, compared to the PL’s 20.

Meanwhile, Grech (but not the PN) has also started releasing his posts with English translations, making him more accessible to voters who may not understand Maltese.

The party has become more social media savvy too, producing sharable content such as the #GvernTadDlam hashtag in response to the power cuts and a number of TikTok videos.

Yet trying to dominate people’s social media feeds and the media’s coverage of political affairs as much as possible will only go so far.

Last week, the PN was hit by a flare-up between its new Gozitan candidate Alex Borg and the NGO Repubblika, whose following is largely composed of traditional PN voters.

This came shortly after PN MP and former leader Adrian Delia filed a libel suit against Lovin Malta over the publication of claims made by murder suspect Yorgen Fenech, which was instantly criticised by the party’s good governance spokesperson Therese Comodini Cachia.

All of a sudden, the PN appeared to be split in two once again, with each side calling on the party to publicly disassociate itself from the other side and some even threatening to withhold their votes if it doesn’t do so.

While the PN managed to prevent this situation from escalating into total warfare, this incident showed that the battle for the party’s soul is still very much on and that political narratives can change in a heartbeat.

And this is largely a failing on Bernard Grech’s part. 

When Grech challenged Delia for the PN leadership last year, his main and overriding message was that the party needed to unite if it had any chances of defeating the PL at an election.

It was a strong message that resonated with the PN voter base, but ten months on the question still remains… unite behind what exactly?

So far, the PN has failed to provide a clear vision that is immediately distinguishable from PL’s and exciting enough to convince people to give them a shot.

Malta is facing several serious issues that warrant an alternative vision and strategy from an opposition party.

The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon, but with the government now being advised by the IMF to scale back its aid to businesses, it’s clear that a ‘wait and see’ approach to restrictions won’t cut it for much longer.

Several tourism-related businesses are also still feeling the effect of pandemic-induced staff shortages and, with unemployment still low, the country must decide whether to make it easier and more attractive for foreigners to move here or let businesses fend for themselves. 

Meanwhile, financial services, another significant economic niche, have been dealt a huge blow from the FATF’s greylisting, and Malta needs to figure out how to get back onto the white list without stifling the industry through excess bureaucracy. A vague promise that everything will be alright just as long as the electorate votes for the PN isn’t going to cut it.

Cost of living remains a major problem for several people, with a survey last year ranking Malta as a more expensive place to live in overall than the likes of the UK, Italy and Germany.

A quick drive around the country will also tell you that Malta needs to change its development strategy to prevent further uglification, an issue that necessitates changes to the planning laws, something the government seems reluctant to touch. This must somehow be achieved while ensuring that property prices don’t skyrocket further and become even less affordable to young home-seekers.

Overriding all of this is climate change, which the UN’s recent report confirmed will probably be the major concern of our lifetime. Malta, along with the rest of the world, must start seriously adapting to climate change, but there’s been a lack of public debate about what this will actually mean in terms of changing our everyday habits. 

This is over and above topics such as the future of broadcasting, upgrading the energy grid, legalising recreational cannabis, improving efficiency in the public sector, ensuring speedier and more transparent justice in the courts, and reforming the education system.

There are certainly a lot of unresolved issues out there for an opposition to sink its teeth into, and if tackled with the necessary dedication and communicated properly, there will hardly be any time left for infighting.

The onus for good and radical ideas is on the PN more than it is on the PL. If everything remains equal from now till the election, the PL will win by another landslide so it’s up to the PN to change people’s minds. And they should do so by trying to convince people that they’re the right party to govern the country, not by trying to convince people that PL isn’t.

Malta doesn’t need more political commentators or internal party committees; it needs politicians with fresh ideas who are ready to take the bull by the horns.

The PN’s style may be improving but unless it stops viewing itself as a reactive party that exists solely to counter government decisions and narratives, then it’s basically proving that it doesn’t even think of itself as an alternative government.

And if it has such a low opinion of itself, then how on earth can it ever strive to lead the country?