The Nationalist MP nominated to unseat Adrian Delia as opposition leader has described his leadership style as “bullying, arrogant and deaf to what people want”.

Therese Comodini Cachia, who the majority of PN MPs last week put forward as Delia’s replacement, also said he has been “badly advised” and that he worked “immediately on dividing the party” when he was elected in September 2017.

But she insists that under fresh leadership, and with a united, positive vision for the country, the Nationalist Party could make what would be a major comeback and win the next election, expected within two years.

Her stinging criticism of Delia, in an interview with Times of Malta, comes as he resists pressure to stand down after failing two confidence votes. He lost the first from the PN’s parliamentary group and a second from its executive committee.

Comodini Cachia said: “When you have a party led by a leader who has lost not one vote of confidence, but two, there’s only one way out of that. If the leader does not take that cue, I’m convinced that the councillors will do what is right for the party.”

Her comments are likely to be taken as an indication that the members of the general council, the party’s highest organ, will gather enough signatures to be able to hold a binding confidence vote. 

‘I’m not really the rabbit out of the hat’

The human rights lawyer was a surprise nomination to lead the opposition. “It was meant to be Claudio Grech,” she admitted, a reference to the MP who is understood to have declined the role.

“My name did come out of the blue. I’m not really the rabbit out of the hat though,” she said. “I tend to be perceived by people as very calm and very quiet, but they have seen me in court, fighting.”

She said she agreed that her name should go to the president as the person who had the support of the majority of opposition MPs because she could sense “unity taking place”.

Before making the final decision, she discussed it with her 13-year-old daughter. “With her support on board, I could try to guide the parliamentary group through these uncharted waters.”

But after days of deliberation, President George Vella ruled that he could not dislodge Delia as leader of the opposition because the role needed to be fulfilled by the leader of the largest party represented in parliament.

Comodini Cachia is at pains not to “entertain comments against the office of the president” but she appears to question his motivation.

“We didn’t go to the president unadvised or ill-advised. The president found a way of following the advice, but of then not fulfilling the advice,” she said.

“The fact that the president took his time to publish his conclusion is indicative of the president finding a solution that was other than what the constitution offers.”

She does not rule out taking the decision to the constitutional court.

‘Deaf to what people want’

The president’s verdict has left her in limbo – she said some have described her as ‘opposition leader in waiting’. But she also refuses to say whether or not she has her sights set on leading the Nationalist Party should a future leadership election arise.

“I want to take things step by step. I really do not appreciate the style of leadership which comes with arrogance, or which comes with bullying, or which comes with being deaf to what people want.”

That, she said, “is the style of leadership I have been faced with in the last three years”.

She believes Delia had “all the good intentions of the world” but condemned his advisors.

“He was badly advised. He was ill-advised. You cannot expect to take the leadership of the party and start to work immediately on dividing the party.”

She concedes he has tried his “utter best” in the three years since the 2017 general election: “He has tried to do what he knows best to do. But that has failed.”

‘There is anger’

Comodini Cachia’s decision to move against Delia by seconding the parliamentary group’s no-confidence motion is not without its critics.

He has tried to do what he knows best to do. But that has failed

She said it “hurts” that Delia loyalists feel betrayed and she admits “there is anger”. Almost exactly a year ago, Delia survived a no-confidence motion in the general council.

“I speak to councillors and they tell me, ‘we supported Adrian Delia, and we’re angry at you now because you are telling us we made the wrong decision’. And then you explain, and you say, ‘but what do you want for the party?’ And the reply is, ‘we want to be strong again’. Are we strong now? Have we been able to be strong in the last three years? No.”

Delia has also criticised her personally. He named Comodini Cachia and three other Nationalist MPs (Chris Said, Claudette Buttigieg and David Thake) as people who had lost his confidence forever and signalled they would be sidelined in an imminent cabinet reshuffle.

Her response? “This is not the time to be threatening anyone. This is the time to be extending the hand to unite.”

She hasn’t spoken to him since.

‘Tired’ and ‘aloof’

But Comodini Cachia admits the blame for the PN’s failures do not rest with the current leader alone. It lost two general elections to Labour by a landslide – first in 2013 and again in 2017, an election it fought on an anti-corruption platform.

She cites several reasons for the PN’s gradual demise.

“I agree that this is not just Adrian Delia. The party has had dwindling numbers for a while now. It comes as a natural step because you’ve been in government for a long time. But it also comes from a lack of ability to instil enthusiasm in people.”

She said the PN was “becoming a tired party” by 2013, when she first contested a general election. “I think my colleagues were really focused on running the country and a bit aloof from understanding what the people were feeling.”

Since then, she blames a lack of guidance and vision.

“You can’t say everything went bad in 2017 or everything went bad when Adrian Delia became leader. Everything went bad bit by bit. There wasn’t the guidance or the vison or the ability to identify the challenges, to face those challenges and to address them. I hope this is the time when we can do that”.

She has faith in the future for the party, even forecasting a win in the next general election under the right circumstances.

“If we work well, if we unite, if we all listen and together build a vision for the party and for the country, yes I believe we could win that.”

Therese Comodini Cachia on:

... Being a ‘reluctant MP’. Comodini Cachia won a seat in the 2017 election but initially declined it in favour of returning to Brussels, reversing the decision only after fierce criticism.

“It is true that I faltered when it came to making the choice… I think that taking  on this challenge  at one of the worst moments of crisis for the party should really convince people that I am here to stay and give my utter best for Malta and the party.”

... Balancing a possible role as leader of the opposition with her legal work on the investigation and public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“The Caruana Galizia case – especially the public inquiry – and the values of the PN are the same. Both are looking for truth and justice… so I do not see a conflict there. But of course, should I find the demand that I need to focus 24/7 on the party, then I will be doing that.”

... Caruana Galizia’s revelation in 2015 that AUM investor Hani Hasan Naji Salah was a client of her then-husband despite her opposition to the project.

“When Daphne told me that was the address of his office, it never changed my opinion. Nothing deters me from the truth. If I think AUM is a sham, it’s not going to make me change my opinion.

“Following that, like many families in Malta, I did pass through a very bad time in the relationship and we have now gone our separate ways. As most separated couples can tell you, you wouldn’t really know what your ex is doing.”

... Being nominated as the first female opposition leader in Malta.

“I have a 13-year-old girl. She was deciding what subjects to choose. I will tell you what I told her: being a woman doesn’t mean you have to compete with men. Being a woman, like every other man, you need to recognise your abilities, your capabilities and your limitations. Once you are aware of those three, nothing can stop you… Women are leading well. Can anyone look at Angela Merkel and complain?”

... Why her first public comments after being nominated for opposition leader were to announce that she opposed abortion.

“This is the red herring that is thrown at every politician in Malta that takes up the challenge in the moment of crisis. This is wrong. In a country where we have so many challenges of corruption, of money laundering, of our businessmen feeling the crunch, not just of COVID-19 but of the negative reputation that our country is taking, it is not fair. I wanted to make sure that this issue is off the table. That I’m clear.”

... Whether the PN has a class problem. Activist Andrew Borg Cardona apologised last week after describing Delia supporters as ‘third-tier Nationalists’.

“No. This is something that hurts. I mean, if people think I’m an elitist, they have an elitist from Birżebbuġa and Żejtun. If people think there is a first, second, third tier, I say there isn’t… I don’t think there are classes or tiers within the party. That is something that is unacceptable to me.  We are a mosaic party. ”

... Her priorities for the PN.

“At this point in time, the priorities for me are the priorities of Malta. The topmost priorities: regaining our reputation, regaining trust on the international forum, regaining enthusiasm and pushing forward with a vision.”