Adrian Delia apologises to Alex Borg over remark about his father

PN leadership contender Adrian Delia on Saturday apologised to his rival Alex Borg for “unintentionally hurting” him and his family when he made a reference to his father’s illness during Thursday’s debate.

Alex Borg used his father’s experience to illustrate why he is not in favour of euthanasia during the pre-recorded televised debate. His father died six years ago after being diagnosed with cancer. He was initially given just six months to live but an operation in the UK managed to prolong his life for another six years.

“Imagine if during those six months of suffering my father had chosen the option of euthanasia,” Borg said.

However, Delia had used that opportunity to score some emotional points by highlighting a deathbed promise he had made to Borg’s father to “take care of” his son.

On Saturday’s radio programme on Net FM, Delia made it a point to “clarify” his message and admitted that, “after re-watching” the televised debate, “it was clear that I had been misunderstood and I apologise”.

“I apologise for hurting Alex or his relatives. It was not my intention. My intention was to pass on the message that I feel obliged to feel close to Alex and for Alex to remain close to me as that was the promise I gave to his father. It was clear, when I re-watched the programme, that I was misunderstood and I apologise,” Delia said.

In a Facebook post, Delia added he wanted to clarify his message “in a clear and genuine way”.

Hinting at his future relationship with his fellow leadership contender after the contest is over, Delia added he looked forward to “continuing what I have been doing wholeheartedly, not only during this campaign but also afterwards.”