Watch: Delia and Borg meet 'to find common ground' in leadership run

Alex Borg and Adrian Delia met to find "common ground" on their bid to clinch the PN leadership, though sources said there is still no clear way forward. 

On Tuesday afternoon, PN MP Ivan J Bartolo invited the two PN leadership candidates - until recently close allies - to meet at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.

Rather than necessarily convincing one or the other to drop out of the race, the idea was to iron out any differences, sources close to the talks told Times of Malta.

"Whoever takes over as leader needs a united party behind him; the party will just continue struggling if that does not happen," they said.

Sources said though the meeting did not plot a way forward, it somewhat helped clear the air between the two MPs and downplayed any impression that the two candidates were clashing.

"On the contrary, I believe there is goodwill to support each other," the sources said.

But another source said the two MPs kept digging their heels on certain issues.

Not agitated, but passionate about discussion - Delia

News of the meeting broke after a video, originally published by One News, showed Delia visibly animated during his meeting with Borg.

Asked why he appeared so agitated, Delia said: "I was not agitated, I was simply being passionate about what I was discussing."

Delia "absolutely refused to divulge" what was being discussed.

Borg could not be reached for comment.

The PN leadership will be a two-horse race between Borg and his former mentor, Delia, as the nominations for the post closed on Sunday. 

Delia, a former party leader, and Borg, a Gozitan MP first elected in 2022, come from the same ideological wing of the party and are viewed as conservative among MPs.

Their head-to-head has surprised many since the two had previously met and reportedly agreed they would not contest each other. 

But since then, their relationship has degenerated, with claims of betrayal flying as the two remain the only two contenders to officially declare their candidacy for the PN leadership.

MPs and PN insiders said the two candidates initially agreed last week that only Delia would contest the election and that Borg would take a step back and endorse and support his campaign for leader.

But other PN sources claim the betrayal came from Delia, who spent three years since the general election grooming and mentoring Borg to be the next leader, only to change his stand days after Bernard Grech’s resignation.