The values traditionally championed by the Nationalist Party, democracy foremost among them, have been at the forefront of discussion during the run-up to Saturday’s General Council meeting which decided Adrian Delia should stay on as leader until the next general election.

But the one value that its individual members now need to practise above all – from the grass roots to the highest ranks – is humility.

Delia needs to be humble in the face of both the confidence he has won and the dissent that has been expressed. The one-third of council members who voted against him make up a substantial minority that he must learn from if he hopes to make any inroads into the broader electorate.

Humility is not a quality that seems to come easily to Delia. His resistance to submitting himself willingly to a vote of confidence – as would be expected after such a heavy electoral defeat – only served to deepen the PN’s internal conflicts.

It does look, though, as if he is now making the right noises, having pledged to listen to the concerns of those who voted against him and invited them to help change the party. It is easy to appear magnanimous in victory. The real test starts now.

On the other side of the fence, it is now incumbent on the naysayers to humbly rally round their leader and help fashion the party into one that more voters will take seriously.

This does not mean bending sacrosanct principles or crossing the line on personal values. But it does mean desisting from actions that might do further damage to the party – which needs to be shored up in the interests of the country – and from inciting backroom upheavals against Delia and his administration unless they are prepared to mount an open challenge. It also means dedicating their energies to meaningful party reform.

For the most important thing to those looking in is that the PN should become a fully functioning and effective opposition. That it takes a no-holds barred approach to exposing the government’s incompetence and malfeasance and presents a coherent and appealing vision for how it would run the country. It also badly needs to elect enough MPs to prevent utter Labour hegemony.

In the meantime, the party must also prepare for possible succession. If, as is likely, it loses the next election, Delia will have to face another vote of confidence. Should the defeat be another heavy one, it is inconceivable he will be kept on. He must put into practice the principle that no one is bigger than the party and help prepare it for a smooth transition.

He has been left with a lot to prove. He must build bridges, appoint advisers unafraid to criticise him internally and rid the party of bully-boy elements. He must avoid equating the party’s interests with his own, take a back seat on the reform and let Louis Galea work in total independence.

Delia needs to bring the party back to the centre of politics, where it can thrive, and ditch the shift to the populist right. He must help define what the party stands for while giving free rein to colleagues who view corruption as the most important battle.

Without real humility, on all sides, the party will continue to crumble. If people don’t change, nothing will change.