Watch: Five key moments from the Alex Borg vs Adrian Delia debate

Thursday’s long-awaited debate between the PN leadership contenders was a largely sedate affair, with few sparks as both contenders focused on projecting party unity.

By the time Alex Borg and Adrian Delia shook hands at the end of the pre-recorded debate, many viewers may have forgiven themselves for letting their minds wander, with the two candidates avoiding major gaffes and sticking to prepared sound bites.

As the debate’s moderator, veteran PN journalist Dione Borg, dutifully ticked off a series of issues in his prepared questions (foreign policy? Check. Overpopulation? Check. The waning interest in politics? Check.), the two contenders gladly stuck to their talking points, often stopping short of trying to land any punches on their opponent.

However, viewers were nevertheless treated to occasional glimpses of disagreement between the two once-close allies.

Here are some moments that stood out.

1. PN won Gozo… or did it?

Easily the most heated portion of the debate was reserved for the pair’s assessment of PN’s recent performances in Gozo.

Borg took just two minutes to bring his Gozo track record into the conversation. “On the ground, PN always won against PL in Gozo ever since I’ve been in parliament,” he said, frequently returning to the topic throughout the debate to point out that 11 out of the 14 Gozitan local councils are now in PN hands. The PN actually holds a majority in eight councils in Gozo. 

For Borg, the matter is not only an electoral trump card, but also a point of pride.

“We returned Gozo to the situation it was under Eddie Fenech Adami, everyone is happy with PN!” Borg exclaimed at one point.

Delia, keen to quash any notion of his rival’s success, had a far more sobering take on the party’s Gozitan fortunes.

“It’s not correct to say we won in Gozo in the last election, because we didn’t,” he said in one of his first interventions.

Delia later doubled down, singling out his younger rival for criticism. “When you contested in Gozo, it was the party’s worst defeat since 1955. Labour won 55% and PN won 41%, so we can’t keep saying we won,” he told Borg.

“This is precisely what I don’t want in PN, a politics of pointing fingers,” Borg retorted, calling for party unity.

Then, in a swift rhetorical flourish, he turned the tables back on Delia.

“Do you know what image I have stamped in my mind?” he asked. “A photo of Adrian and I together after our strong performance in Gozo during the EU and local council elections.”

2. Vision for the party

The pair also clashed over how they plan to run the party once elected as leader.

Borg pledged to shake up the party’s administrative arm, appointing a CEO to manage its financial affairs (“the financial situation is what it is,” Borg said, in what was surely the euphemism of the night), with the secretary general focusing squarely on political affairs.

The CEO would work to maximise revenue from the party’s assets, Borg said, quickly ruling out the prospect of selling off its band clubs, describing them as “the party’s home”.

Borg said he would also create a new role of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs to help him and the party whip manage parliamentary work.

Delia was having none of it.

“The role of the secretary general needs to be strengthened, not weakened,” he said, arguing that the secretary general needs to manage the party as a whole, not just its political messaging.

“I also disagree with the idea that the party’s finances are put in the hands of somebody appointed by the leader,” rather than individuals, such as the secretary general and treasurer, elected by party members, Delia added.

And Delia also gave short shrift to the Borg’s idea of naming a new deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, saying the leader has to bow their head to the party statute. “The statute dictates the number of deputy leaders, so it’s not in the remit of the party leader,” he insisted.

Instead, Delia pledged to hold a “national convention” to help the party return to its roots and help answer “the question that everybody asks us – what do we stand for?”.

3. A promise to a father

Alex Borg’s late father, rather unexpectedly, took centre stage at one point in the debate, with Borg drawing on his father’s experience to illustrate his opposition to euthanasia.

“My father died six years ago and was diagnosed with cancer six years before that,” Borg said, adding that he was initially given just six months to live. Much to his doctor’s amazement, an operation in the UK prolonged his life by another six years.

“Imagine if during those six months of suffering my father chose the option euthanasia,” Borg said.

Delia quickly spotted an opportunity to tug at some heartstrings of his own.

“I had the privilege of meeting Alex’s father during his final moments,” Delia said, as Borg looked on.

“He told me something that I cherish, he said ‘take care of my son’”.

Delia and Borg are known to have been close allies, with their relationship turning bitter in recent weeks, amid claims of betrayal over who among them would stand for leader.

Ultimately, both Borg and Delia adopted identical positions on both the introduction of abortion and euthanasia. While the former is out of the question, they say, they both pledged to give their MPs a free vote on euthanasia, while voting against it themselves.

4. An olive branch to NGOs

Both Delia and Borg have had a rocky relationship with some of Malta’s civil society organisations over the years, often seeking to distance the party from NGOs such as Repubblika.

However, both now appear keen to row back on their previous defiance (NGOs “play a vital role,” Borg said, with Delia adding that “they have a lot to offer”).

Borg, in particular, appeared to extend an olive branch to Repubblika, who once accused him of having “fascist sentiments and attitudes”.

Joseph Muscat stepped down “thanks to Repubblika,” Borg said, describing how the NGO was born “at a time when there was a need to apply pressure on the government”.

Nevertheless, both candidates insist that NGOs must settle for second billing behind the party itself.

“The party is obliged to listen and discuss,” with NGOs, Delia said. “But it is the party alone that decides on its policies and direction.”

5. An election around the corner

That the party has no time to lose, having spent much of the past decade in the political wilderness, would have come as no surprise to any of the debate’s viewers, but both candidates were keen to drive the point home, with a general election seemingly on the horizon.

Delia’s idea of a national convention to reexamine the party’s core beliefs is a fine idea (“I proposed it myself”), but the party needs to act quicker, given Robert Abela’s threat to call an election, Borg argued.

Ultimately, Borg said, “I am running to beat Robert Abela not in five years’ time, but at the next election”

The party needs “to hit the ground running,” after the leadership campaign, Delia said, extending a hand to Borg.

“I invite my friend Alex to work together, regardless of result,” in the short window ahead of the general election, Delia said.