Adrian Delia to face confidence vote in petition to hold secret ballot in General Council

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia is bracing himself for a confidence vote that could be brought against him within the General Council. 

150 signatures from PN councillors, the members who get to vote in the party’s General Council, are close to being collected at the time of writing to force through a vote of confidence. 

The petition requests that the president of the General Council, MP Kristy Debono, holds a general council in which a secret ballot will take place on whether PN leader Adrian Delia should “shoulder political responsibility and resign”. 

The petition comes in the wake of a rebellion from MPs inimical to Delia’s leadership who since the party’s drubbing at the European and local elections, have repeatedly asked Delia within the executive committee and parliamentary group meetings, to take responsibility for the loss of the PN’s third seat in Brussels. 

The petition, dated Saturday 22 June, needs 150 signatures to be able to force a General Council within a week. 

“The PN had its worst ever electoral outing since Independence, putting at risk its future. These were results that it did not merit and do no honour to the PN, and for that the political responsibility has to be shouldered,” the petition states. 

The petition will ask that a secret ballot be held asking the question: “After the results obtained by the PN in the European and local elections of 25 May 2019, should the party leader take political responsibility and resign? YES/NO” 

Adrian Delia’s position at the helm of the party is a beleaguered one after having suffered strong internal opposition since the European elections. He has refused to resign.

First, the president of the PN’s executive committee Mark Anthony Sammut resigned, saying he was setting an example for political responsibility to be shouldered. 

Then, Delia’s faction narrowly won a vote in the 82-member executive, which includes 13 voting MPs, to have his ally Jean Pierre Debono – the MP who gave up his seat for Delia’s co-option to the House – co-opted instead of outgoing MP David Stellini. 

Not working out… Jean Pierre Debono’s second bid at being MP was thwarted over claims of a null election

But Sammut protested the vote, saying neither Stellini nor party treasurer David Camilleri were entitled to vote, insisting that the 42-40 vote was null. 

Camilleri then resigned, and Debono withdrew his bid for the co-option, leading to the co-option by acclamation of Gozo local councillor Kevin Cutajar to the House. 

Delia also suffered mounting opposition from the party’s Gozo district, which led the push to have Cutajar take the seat of the outgoing Gozitan MP. 

Pierre Portelli, an early Delia ally, is now out

At the end of a stormy meeting earlier last week, the man who openly backed his bid to become party leader, Media.Link chief Pierre Portelli, submitted his resignation. 

Since then it has been an open war of words between Delia and his supporters, who insist his election by paid-up members should be legitimately supported; and MPs like Jason Azzopardi, who have been reference points for critics of the party leader.

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