Alex Borg backs PN rule against ONE coverage during leadership race
Leadership contender says ONE wants to cause division in the PN
Nationalist Party leadership contender Alex Borg has defended a decision by the PN’s Electoral Commission that prohibits candidates from engaging with media linked to rival political parties.
Speaking to Times of Malta on Monday, Borg said the Labour Party’s media station, ONE, had its own agenda and did not operate in the Nationalist Party’s interests.
“The interest of ONE is not to strengthen the Nationalist Party,” he said.
“Rather, it is to spin things in their own way and create division within the party.”
Borg said he would respect the commission’s decision and not engage with ONE during the campaign.
Last week, the PN’s Electoral Commission issued a formal directive barring candidates from giving interviews to journalists associated with media owned by other political parties. The decision followed an incident in which Adrian Delia’s campaign invited a journalist from ONE to a campaign event.
“It is clearly problematic for journalists associated with the opposing camp to be involved in this campaign, as it disrupts the purpose and neutrality of the process,” the commission said in its statement. “Therefore, the Electoral Commission makes it clear that such involvement is prohibited.”
The commission also stated that interviews with PN-owned media must receive prior approval, and that any journalists wishing to attend campaign events must coordinate through the commission.
It described the contest as an “internal election campaign within the Nationalist Party”, a position echoed by Borg.
The Gozitan MP noted that his decision was not driven by personal reluctance to engage with ONE.
“I have never had a problem speaking to ONE and answering their questions before,” he said. “And after the election, I would be very happy to speak to them again, but for now I must respect the rules.”
Over the weekend, Delia, Borg’s only rival in the leadership race, defended his initial decision to invite a ONE journalist, arguing that journalists should be free to carry out their duties and ask questions of public figures.
However, following the Electoral Commission’s directive issued last Friday, Delia said he would withdraw the invitation and comply with the rules.
The Institute of Maltese Journalists criticised the PN’s restrictions, calling them “anti-democratic”.
“If the Nationalist Party truly believes in the democratic values it says it upholds, it should allow the contestants to be interviewed by all the media, without distinction,” the institute said on Saturday.