Delia can’t take party members’ support for granted, former PN MEP candidate says

Adrian Delia can no longer take it for granted that he still enjoys party members’ support, former Nationalist MEP candidate Peter Agius has said.

The expert on EU affairs said that the beleaguered PN leader must consult members again on whether they still support him.

“Party leader Dr Adrian Delia can no longer take party members' support as a given after two important resolutions by MPs and the PN Executive Committee,” Agius said on Friday.

“It is clear that party members need to be consulted again.”

In June, Agius was chosen by Delia as a member of one of 14 “clusters” of MPs, party members and other stakeholders charged with coming up with policy recommendations for Malta.

Together with PN MP Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, Agius is part of the cluster dealing with "national identity in a global society", where the two are tasked with proposing ways on how to repair the damage to Malta’s reputation.

His comments come after Delia lost confidence votes in both his parliamentary group and the party’s Executive Committee, all the while refusing to step down as leader, insisting that he could not ignore the support of card-holding members who elected him.

Agius also highlighted that the Nationalist Party was “but a tool to change our country for the better.”

“To do this, we need to move out of the present situation characterised by confusion in the minds of party members and doubts on our ability to bring change by the wider electorate.”

“I call on all for moderation in our language and approach and express my hope in party structures to be deployed with useful effect in expedient resolution of the current crises,” Agius added.