Adrian Delia says he will find those using personal troubles to undermine his leadership

Nationalist Party (PN) leader Adrian Delia has said that he will be looking into who is behind efforts to undermine his leadership by leaking and spreading details regarding his ongoing separation from his wife Nickie Vella de Fremeaux.

Earlier this month, Vella de Fremeaux's lawyers filed official separation proceedings saying the her marriage to Delia had brokedn down irretrievably. This was followed by Delia filing an urgent court application on Christmas eve asking the court to let him see his five children, with Vella de Fremeaux replying saying that she would only allow him limited access to the children under the supervision of her parents. In her writ, de Fremeaux alleged acts of domestic and verbal violence by Delia towards her and their children.

Asked to comment on the reports during a brief phone interview on the party’s radio station, Delia insisted that personal matters were being used for political mileage by those with an interest in undermining his leadership.

“I am no different from other people and even if they haven’t been through problems themselves, everyone knows someone that has been through problems like these,” Delia insisted. 

The PN leader said that he and his wife had agreed that would not be discussing personal matters in the media and that he would not give any further details. Delia said however that he would be looking into those spreading the information and would not exclude taking action in this regard.

The latest developments, he said, had strengthened his resolve to continue working for the benefit of the country.

READ MORE: PN leader’s wife claims domestic violence in legal bid to prevent access to children

‘Government disregarding values that make us Maltese’

A report on the front page of the Nationalist Party’s newspaper il-Mument on Sunday claimed that over the Christmas period, the government has been working on its plan to introduce abortion.

Delia said that while he hoped that what the paper had reported wasn’t the case, he feared that it was accurate.

The PN leader said that the government, through its “liberal progressive agenda” was disregarding values and everything which gave the Maltese their national identity.

He accused the government of repeatedly presenting parliament with laws that sought to make Malta a “soulless state”.

Delia insisted that abortion was something the PN would never accept and that it would fight its introduction “till the last breath”.

Corinthia negotiations didn’t consider national interest  

Finally, on the proposed 100,000 sq.m. residential and commercial development by the Corinthia Group in St George’s Bay, Delia said the government had again shown itself to be unprepared.

He said that he had insisted that the Corinthia Group present its plans to the PN parliamentary group.

Delia said he believed the government was obliged to support investment, such as that being proposed by the group, but said that the PN could not accept the land’s valuation.

“We cannot accept public land being given to someone without their having been the best possible negotiations,” the PN leader said.

READ MORE: Corinthia land values given 57% discount