Send in the Clowns

“If you were a PN member, who would you vote for?”

I was asked this question last week. My reply was simple: “I am not and have never been a PN member, so I do not have to make that choice! And thank God for that.”

But to a PN member it is not an easy choice to make.

When Joseph Muscat won a landslide victory in the 2013 general election, a kind heart left a copy of The Economist magazine on the desk in his office to be. The magazine featured Silvio Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo on the cover with the title: Send In The Clowns. I would not be too surprised if someone at l-Istamperija would do the same for the incoming leader.

Alex Borg’s mentor has always been Adrian Delia. Delia to Borg has been like a father. Those who have come out accusing Borg of showing disloyalty towards Delia by contesting the leadership post, conveniently forget that Delia had always pushed Borg to aim for the top job. But these people also expediently avoid mentioning that Delia has been telling his closest of collaborators that he wants his pound of flesh for all the wrongs the Blue Heroes did to him when he was ousted from ‘kap’ of the Nationalist Party.

Neither do these people mention the diabolical plan devised by Roberta Metsola that she would serve as leader of the party but retain all the thrills and frills of her post in Brussels, while Adrian Delia would serve as Opposition leader.

To many, Delia was considered past tense. He left his lucrative legal firm to stand for leader in 2017 and he was soon derided by the Nationalist MPs who saw him as uncouth and an outsider. He also caught the eye of Daphne Caruana Galizia who lashed out at him in no uncertain terms. She highlighted his client dealings and the thugs that followed him and of course she focused on his personal life, which was her speciality when dressing down opponents.

Delia was unfortunate in describing her as ‘a biċċa blogger’ just before her heinous murder. He would never recover from the backlash from many of her followers. What followed was a coup d’etat that installed newcomer Bernard Grech.

In the five years that followed, Delia remained loyal. He rebuilt his legal consultancy and pursued the court case to terminate the Vitals hospitals contract.

From a political perspective he remains conservative. His political views are no different than those of Alex Borg. But Borg, unlike Delia, has few skeletons in the cupboard, at least for now.

Bolstered by his electoral success in Gozo, Borg believes he can take the PN to new highs. But he has never tested the water of national politics and faced the fire of the Labour attack machine.

His overreaction to a commentary of a solitary opinion writer in The Times does not bode well. But the on the other hand, Borg is remarkably quick at learning from his mistakes. His advisers say that his position on Chambray was ill-thought, and he realised how sensitive ‘environmental’ issues can turn out to be.

The election of Delia and Borg is in the hands of the 17,500 paid-up members of the PN. They will base their decision on a very simple question—can Borg or Delia win them the next election?

In their heart of hearts they know that Delia should be the better choice. He is battle-hardened, a good communicator, perseverant and intelligent.

On the other hand, they are aware that Borg is a winner. The man wins the hearts of those he meets. His charm could be crucial to convince pale red voters to switch. This is a segment the PN desperately needs to be able to win the election.

With a group of fine advisers, Borg may be the best shot for the PN to beat Labour but if I were I were to answer the question that was put to me in the first instance—who would I vote for if I were a PN member—the answer would be ‘no one!

Hotel in Naxxar

I was surprised with the reaction to my opinion last week on a proposed hotel in the urban conservation area in Naxxar. I was pleased to get to know so much more about the disgraceful application and pleased to see so many objections. It is good to know that people were angry to note that someone removed the planning permit application on the site to avoid attention. People got angrier when they learnt that a garage sold to the developer at the back of the proposed hotel to allow access to the site was owned by a Naxxar local councillor. It is time for residents all over Malta and Gozo to speak up loudly and say enough is enough. And the message needs to be felt, if necessary… even on the ballot sheet.