Alex Borg confirmed PN leader with 98% vote - announces reform of party statute

Updated 8.10pm with party leader's address.

Alex Borg was confirmed leader of the Nationalist Party with a 98.2% vote by party councillors on Wednesday.

The confidence vote was held in terms of party rules after every general election. The post was not contested. 1486 votes were cast. The chairman of the PN electoral commission, Mario Callus, said that constituted ‘practically all’ councillors.

Borg was elected party leader in September with a razor-thin majority of just 44 votes over Adrian Delia, who did not submit a fresh challenge and backed Borg on Wednesday.

While the Labour Party comfortably won the general election at the end of May, Borg was widely credited for enabling the PN to practically halve the Labour majority.

Wednesday's result was greeted with long applause at a meeting of the PN general council. The council's president, Mark Anthony Sammut, said this was a record vote of approval for the party leader.

'Biggest-ever' reform of party statute

In an address, Borg thanked the councillors for choosing continuity and promised that this was just the beginning, and a lot of work remained in store.

This, he said, was not a personal triumph but a vote which imposed a heavy responsibility on him to lead the modernisation and strengthening of the party, to make it a winning one.

Alex Borg addresses the PN general council.

The party, he said, was emerging from this council meeting stronger, more united and more determined to achieve the best for Malta. The PN would not just be a strong opposition but an alternative government, a party which learned from the mistakes of the past and was well prepared to lead Malta to a better future.

In his address, Borg thanked all those who had served in the PN, as well as those serving the party now. “You stood by us even in the most difficult times. When others left, you continued to believe in the PN,” he said.

“Together, I promise we will win once more. When we win, Malta wins.” 

But he stressed that renewal was vital, and that meant difficult decisions would have to be taken.

He said that on Thursday he would convene the party leadership to start a process for the biggest revision ever of the party statute. The change might initially scare some people, he said, but it was important for the party’s future.

“We will totally reform the party’s structures while upholding the values we always held dear,” he said.

Reform, he insisted, should mean opening doors for all people of good will and attracting the best talents in Malta and Gozo.

The party also needed to be closer to the people, with a stronger presence in towns and villages.

Investment in technology

He said he also intended to see the party invest strongly in technology for better communication with all sectors of society.

He promised he would always be among the people, a leader ready to listen to the ideas of all those who wished to contribute to the party and the country and not just those who voted PN.

The people’s priorities must be the PN’s priorities, not least the quality of life, he said.

The people’s confidence would be won not just through criticism of the government, but through credibility and ideas for a better life.

Borg appealed to people who may have left the party to consider the changes the party was making, and to return to it once more.

The party, he said, would work with renewed energy, humility and determination. He was dedicating himself to the party, and his promise was to give his all for the party to return to winning ways.