Commission in litany of reasons why the PN lost the election

A commission tasked by the PN to investigate the causes of the party's electoral defeat has come up with a litany of reasons while saying that the PN needs to rekindle a ‘feel good’ feeling among the party supporters. The commission, chaired by Ann Fenech, said the reasons for the defeat included public disappointment over the bus service reform, the City Gate project, the pay rise to ministers, arrogance and a lack of good communication with the people, divisions within the party, the situation in Mepa and the cost of living. The party had not managed to reunite after John Dalli lost to Lawrence Gonzi in the PN leadership election (in 2008), the report says, with divisions becoming deeper with the disagreements by a number of MPs. A number of people felt some ministers should have resigned when policies failed. The fact that the Cabinet was small meant that ministers were too busy to meet people and keep a close-enough eye on civil servants, the report says. Customer care sections within ministries were also not effective enough. Criticism was made over the past that tax cuts were 'too little, too late' and the Tax Compliance Unit was sometimes inhumane. Other reasons were the...