Delia convinced PN members will seek renewal through unity, rather than division

Nationalist Party leadership contender Adrian Delia has said that the party was currently going through a process of renewal, and that he was convinced that those making up the PN would choose renewal that unites rather than that which divides.

Delia was addressing a press conference held after he obtained a clear majority of votes (46%) during yesterday’s first round of elections.

He said that having done well in convincing councillors of his new way, he would now need to campaign on a broader level, since the second election will be seeing the party’s roughly 22,000 paid-up members voting.

“My aim is for every one of 22,000 members to understand the message I am trying to put forward and to embrace it. I am not trying to win a number of votes but trying to convince those members to be the party’s ambassadors to the nation,” he said, adding that through his new way of doing politics, he would be trying to convince all people, while embracing their diversity.  

 “We may not agree on certain ideas, but when one looks at who the Maltese are, one understands that their values are unique.”

Answering journalists’ questions on the often-mentioned clique running he PN, Delia said that he had never spoken of a single clique, but rather of many cliques or “lobby-groups” which were natural in any party of organisation.

“These sorts of groups are difficult to eliminate because it is human nature to form such groups in big organisations,” he added.

Asked when the process of him divesting himself of his business interests would start, Delia said that he had already discussed the matter with the partners at his law firm, which he hoped to conclude as quickly as possible. He did not make reference to any other business dealings.

Parliamentary Seat

Delia said that in the coming weeks he would be having more focused internal discussions on finding a way into parliament if he is elected leader.

“It would have been premature to start any focused discussions before,” he said, pointing out that three of four candidates were in his same position.

“Now we will be launching this discussion internally so that we can have more clarity on how this will happen. The conviction I had before that it will happen is even greater now,” said Delia.  

Finally, Delia said he would not read too much into the fact that he had not spoken with outgoing leader Simon Busuttil since the result, but insisted that Busuttil had every right to hold onto his seat, and that he believed Busuttil still had much to contribute to both the party and country.