Adrian Delia entered politics in 2017 promising a ‘new way’. In a way it was. Never has an opposition leader been at the heart of a constitutional crisis and had to face consistent rebellion within his own ranks. Keith Micallef reports.

After the second consecutive landslide general election defeat in 2017, there was widespread consensus among the party grassroots on the need for a clear break with the past. Many believed that outgoing leader Simon Busuttil had paid the price for focusing exclusively on the fight against corruption and that relegating bread- and-butter issues to the back-burner was a strategic mistake.

The overriding sentiment was that members of the old guard from the days of Lawrence Gonzi and Eddie Fenech Adami, who Delia had subsequently branded as the “establishment”, were still pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Delia’s leadership bid was also aided by the fact that none of those touted to have ambitions such as Claudio Grech or Roberta Metsola threw their name in the hat. Consequently, the kingmakers were left with a pool of four candidates of whom two were rank outsiders – Alex Perici Calascione and Frank Portelli – and the other was MP Chris Said, who was part of the Gonzi cabinet.

For the majority, the choice was to go with the new by voting for Delia, despite being an unknown quantity in political terms.

The ‘biċċa blogger’ remark

Delia’s campaign hit the ground running and he was seen mobilising many who saw in him a ray of hope.

But his momentum almost ground to a halt as soon as journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia claimed Delia had been involved in a Soho prostitution racket around 15 years earlier. Doubts were also cast on his integrity and personal finances.

Though his decision to sue her for libel was expected, Delia committed his first blunder when he coined the derogatory term “biċċa blogger” to refer to Caruana Galizia. His reaction only served to alienate him from Busuttil’s supporters.

Just one month into his leadership, his remark came back to haunt him after Caruana Galizia, his biggest critic, was brutally murdered.  Since then, attempts to reach out to her family failed miserably as his gestures were perceived to be motivated by political convenience rather than conviction.

The Egrant inquiry debacle

In July 2018, Delia was presented with the first important test of his leadership. A magisterial inquiry into secret Panama company Egrant concluded there was not enough evidence to corroborate claims that it belonged to then prime minister Joseph Muscat or his wife Michelle. The allegation had been at the heart of the PN’s election campaign against corruption, piloted by Busuttil.

Less than an hour after a redacted version was published, Delia hastily summoned Busuttil requesting his resignation from the parliamentary group.

The PN leader’s gamble backfired spectacularly as Busuttil defied his call to leave

The PN leader’s gamble backfired spectacularly, as Busuttil defied his call, buoyed by the support of a number of MPs who publicly denounced their own leader posting the slogan ‘Not in my name’ on their Facebook account.  With the first signs of an open rebellion on the horizon, Delia was forced to backtrack and admit defeat. 

His subsequent decision to go to court to obtain the full report of the inquiry only served to reinforce criticism that his call for Busuttil’s resignation was rushed, if not motivated by a desire to get rid of what many in his camp perceived to be the leader of rebel MPs.

Double electoral drubbing

Delia was dealt a major blow in the 2019 European and local council elections, which saw the PN’s popularity drop to historic lows, reflecting the persistent trends in public opinion polls.

The debacle triggered a chain reaction with disgruntled general council members taking the unprecedented step of seeking a confidence vote.

Though Delia survived, winning 67 per cent of the support, the result sounded the alarm bells as it exposed his weak hold of the party. By that time, Delia had roped in party stalwart Louis Galea to oversee a radical overhaul of the party’s structure in the run-up of this vote, possibly boosting his level of support.

False dawns

At times, it seemed Delia was finally winning over his detractors by taking a tougher stance against corruption, such as the Vitals scandal. However, opinion polls  showed  the party was still losing support despite the political crisis which last December forced Muscat’s resignation.

Faced by mounting internal dissent, Delia somehow survived another rebellion when, in February, the majority of his own parliamentary group issued a public statement calling for his resignation. 

This open rebellion, the likes of which was unprecedented in the post- independent era, triggered another reshuffle, which until June seemed to have calmed the waters.  It turned out it was the silence before the storm.  The emergence of WhatsApp messages which Delia had exchanged with 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech was the straw which broke the camel’s back.

On July 7, the PN leader lost a confidence vote within his own parliamentary group, which in the following weeks was followed suit by the executive committee and the general council.

Were it not for a controversial interpretation of the constitution by President George Vella, Delia would have been removed as opposition leader last month as the rebel MPs had nominated Therese Comodini Cachia to succeed him. 

It is now up to the 20,000 party members to decide on his political future.

Many believe this will be a bridge too far for him, but underestimating Delia’s resilience, doggedness and excellent oratory skills would be a big mistake.