PN leadership candidate Adrian Delia said this afternoon that support for him was growing and he was stronger now than 12 hours ago, when the PN Administrative Council asked him to reconsider his position and bow out of the leadership election.
Speaking at a press conference in Siġġiewi, Dr Delia hit out at the Administrative Council for having called on him to leave the race when the party’s ethics committee had not found him guilty of any wrongdoing.
He said that according to his information, the council did not take a vote before reaching its decision. (But the PN council in a quick rebuttal said the decision was subject to a vote - which was unanimous.)
Dr Delia immediately declared yesterday that he would stay in the race.
'Tremendous feedback'
"I am being overwhelmed by support.
“I am getting tremendous feedback. Today I am stronger by 12 hours of continuous support. Not one person of the current set-up has asked me to withdraw. People are begging me to continue their fight, to fight for them to be able to take their beloved party back.”
“They are not recognising their own party. I have had 70-year-olds coming to me, putting holy water on my head while asking me to fight on. I would not be here if I did not believe that I am fit for purpose,” Dr Delia said.
Dr Delia said he had been practising as a lawyer for 25 years and never faced any issue.
The Ethics Committee, he said, had questioned him and he had produced whatever documents he could within the limits of client confidentiality.
The allegations made against him, he said, were about a case, 14 years ago, involving goings-on in a property in London which he did not own. Alleged illegalities were not carried out by either the owners or the tenants, but by people the property had been sub-let to.
His role was as a lawyer, he said, and not once was a shadow of doubt cast on him.
Dr Delia hit out at blogs by Daphne Caruana Galizia saying the information was leaked to her by people who had actually been arraigned and convicted in the UK property case. No proceedings were ever taken against his clients, or himself.
He insisted he did not own any personal funds abroad, but held an MFSA licence to conduct fiduciary services, which, by its very nature, involved having bank accounts abroad.
He said the party councillors on Saturday could decide to vote for him and a new direction for the PN, or they could vote to keep things as they were, despite successive heavy defeats.
'People's voice will unite the party'
Asked how he would unite the party if he was elected leader, Dr Delia he would use the truth and the people’s voice.
The people’s voice is so resounding that I am sure that those who are truly politicians and represent the people will heed it.
“This voice will not divide but will unite the party and make the PN a strong and serious opposition that can make a difference in people’s lives as from today."
Dr Delia said that yesterday he had called his rival, Alex Perici Calascione, to express solidarity after claims were made against the latter in an anonymous letter.