Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia described Saturday’s vote as a “turning point” and a “golden opportunity” to take the party in a new direction.
Moreover, he pledged to make a greater effort to reach out to his critics, especially those who had voted for a change in the leadership.
Dr Delia gave this reaction when interviewed over the phone on the party’s radio station, the day after he was reconfirmed as leader by two-thirds of general council members in an extraordinary session held on Saturday.
While hailing the high participation rate (92%) in the vote, the PN leader remarked that he was impressed with the wave of enthusiasm which swept the party and the amount of people offering their support.
“Rather than point fingers and blame people, we must ask who is doing what,” he said,
“This could be a turning point, as from a scenario whereby the party could have suffered a very damaging blow, we have a golden opportunity to take the Nationalist Party in a new direction,” Dr Delia added.
The PN leader also referred to an expression of interest issued Sunday by the party’s think thank (AŻAD) as part of a wide-ranging reform process piloted by Louis Galea. Dr Delia urged all those of goodwill to come forward, as long as they had the national and the party’s interests at heart.
Pitching his address to his critics, he said he wanted to give more attention to those who had voted for a change in leadership, but at the same time he said the party would never be electable unless it united.
“Let us debate internally rather than oppose publicly,” he appealed.
On the other hand, Dr Delia warned there was no place for those who did not want to listen.
“Who refuses to engage at all costs will be declaring they are not part of a team, of a process of change but belong to a mentality which refuses to change,” he cautioned.
In his reaction, the PN leader pledged to move away from the “politics of hatred” without compromising its stand against corruption and other issues.
Dr Delia called for more restraint in the use of social media, saying this tool should not be used to launch personal attacks.
“Let us instead focus on issues like the environment, and poverty” he said.