Dr. Bernard Grech should have dismissed himself of the Old Party Barons

Fifth Article

In my opinion what Dr Grech hasn’t done is to distance himself from a number of established old barons of the Nationalist Party. Due to the fact that he did not do so, will mean, his downfall. But then, there is the question; can he get rid of them?

The truth is that these barons were responsible for the downfall of Dr Delia. There are individuals who consider themselves political icons in the party. These individuals should be removed without any due consideration. It is because of these individuals that the party lost, and is still losing, a very important pillar of support.

The real opposition is coming from these people. So, it is vital for the leader to take quick decisive action. If he takes too long to get rid of these members within the Party, who have always acted as though they owned the Party by some divine right, Dr Grech will regret it. These people have their personal agenda so it is absolutely clear that they can never condone the Party’s agenda. Their motto is the following: ‘If they are not with me, they are against me’. You might lose a few but a major pillar of supporters will consider taking the plunge and make a comeback.

The leader should also keep a close eye on those who sit on the fence: the sycophants, the behind-the-scenes manipulators, the undecided or the indecisive, those who are waiting to see if Dr Grech is an achiever before jumping on board.

Before appointing his entourage, Dr. Grech should have looked for people specifically with a broad and cross-disciplinary view of the Party, clarity of thought and honesty, a will to change, openness in expressing views, self-motivation and a good sense of teamwork. What we are experiencing, now within the Party walls, are many generals whose only aim is to please the leader and not work to strengthen the Party.

But apart from the qualities mentioned, the most important, without a doubt, is the courage of these people to make and support difficult decisions. But the question is: would they actually take difficult decisions when they know that they are there because of previous allegiances with other political faces? This is a game that is played everywhere particularly in political spheres, where politicians place people in key positions for their own benefit. Dr Grech, with key positions being imposed on you, did you leave any room for manoeuvre? If not, you are in a fix because when you realise that certain individuals have become a liability, you will be unable to go through another call for application.

As these points have not been taken on board by Bernard Grech, the results are all there to be seen. Yesterday, this site broke the news of the reshuffle within the PN. It was a big mess. This is due to the fact that he took the advice of the leading baron. If Dr. Grech had distanced himself from these barons, he would have handled this reshuffle in a more gracious manner.