Lawyer Bernard Grech is being pushed to face Adrian Delia in a leadership contest after a deal was reached between the potential leadership contenders, PN insiders have confirmed.

It is understood Roberta Metsola and Therese Comodini Cachia agreed to withdraw to throw their weight behind Grech as a ‘unity candidate’. 

“This is about beating Adrian Delia. It is clear that Bernard Grech has built up a groundswell of support that could not be ignored,” one insider said.

Grech has not made any public comment. Both Metsola and Comodini Cachia announced on Facebook on Thursday that they would not contest. 

Candidates have until Monday to come forward, and will first face a due diligence process before an election, expected in September or October.

There were fears that if Metsola was chosen as the one to go into a runoff with Delia, she had less of a chance of attracting people from the PN leader’s support base than Grech. 

Grech, a popular family lawyer, has over the past months been repeatedly linked with a leadership bid, despite being a party outsider. 

He last had a stint in the public eye back in 2011 as part of a campaign against the introduction of divorce. 

Grech, who has never publicly said he would contest the PN leadership, had nevertheless started a quiet series of visits to PN clubs at the beginning of the year. 

The lawyer is reported to have snubbed an invitation to run on the PN’s ticket in last year’s European Parliament elections.