Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia was faced by calls to step down from several of his MPs late Tuesday but rejected them, before telling waiting journalists that no one at the parliamentary group meeting had asked for his resignation. 

At the meeting, he was bluntly told by MPs that the PN would be unelectable if he remained leader and that the next logical step would be to step aside in the interests of the party, Times of Malta is informed.

The embattled leader, who presided over the party’s worst ever election results in May, had been asked to give the parliamentary group a reply during the Tuesday meeting on whether he had made up his mind on his exit.

He turned down both the demand to hand in his resignation and, failing that, the request to resort to the party’s highest organ, the General Council, and ask for a vote of confidence.

A number of MPs who spoke to Times of Malta on Wednesday described Dr Delia’s declaration – that he did not face calls to resign – as “unbelievable”.

Although they insisted on remaining anonymous, they claimed he was told to step down by at least 10 members of the parliamentary group.

“This is not about Delia anymore but about the future of our party,” one MP said, adding it was evident the PN was going nowhere with Delia and the baggage he carried.

“Last night (Tuesday), he was repeatedly told once again, very directly, that he was unelectable and that he must go.”

According to the accounts of the meeting, as it got underway, the PN leader ignored the request that had been made to him in the two previous parliamentary group meetings, that he should take some time to reflect, consult and convey a decision on his future.

Instead, he made 10 proposals to “radically restructure the party” which he said he would like to work on in the coming weeks.

The proposals included meeting every two weeks for the parliamentary group (it used to meet once a week during the last legislature), the inclusion of more people in his strategy group and the holding of another national convention. 

Confronted by several MPs about whether he had decided on his position, he insisted he was not going to resign.

At that stage, MPs proposed that he should at least go to the General Council to ask for a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Dr Delia turned this avenue down, arguing it would create deeper splits in the party.

Times of Malta is informed that only two MPs openly expressed the desire for Dr Delia to remain at the helm. All the others either sat on the fence or told him outright that he should leave.

One MP expressed frustration that after all these meetings “we are still back to square one. Dr Delia is refusing to do the honourable thing”.

“We now have to decide whether to try to force him to leave or let him drift for another three years until the election. In that case, the PN will continue to suffer and Labour will keep getting stronger.”

Where will the PN go?

With Adrian Delia refusing to step down of his own accord, the party is faced with a number of options:

Option 1: He is left at the helm to face the next general election in three years’ time. Going on the last historical electoral defeat, this would be expected to lead to another significant loss, especially as retaining Dr Delia as leader is seen as unlikely to resolve the internal conflict and might lead to more PN supporters dissociating themselves from a party led by him. In that eventuality, Dr Delia would then have no option but to step down.

Option 2: The parliamentary group moves a motion to sack Dr Delia as Opposition leader. However, while they would appoint someone instead of him who enjoyed their confidence, he would still be the leader of the party itself since he was elected by the party members. This split would weaken the PN even further.

Option 3: The necessary 150 signatures are collected from members of the General Council to call an extraordinary meeting, in line with provisions in the PN statute. A motion calling for a vote of confidence in Dr Delia as party leader is then moved. If Dr Delia wins, he stays on. If not, he will be sacked.

Option 4: Dr Delia tests his leadership during a convention of paid-up members of the party (tesserati). If he fails to win sufficient support, he would have to leave his post.