‘Labour Party Doing Its Utmost For Adrian Delia To Stay,’ Chris Said Says As PN Awaits President’s Decision
Gozitan MP and former PN leadership contender Chris Said has said the Labour Party is doing everything it can to keep Adrian Delia in place.
“It’s crystal clear by now that the Labour Party is doing its utmost for Delia to stay,” Said said to the Times of Malta.
“The worst thing that can happen to our country is for certain experts, who so far remain unnamed, to have an agenda to ensure the PN remains in this state,” he continued. “Our group is determined to fight to make sure the PN opposition gets stronger and provides the real checks and balances on this government.
His comments come as the Nationalist Party faces one another leadership crisis with at least 19 members of the PN parliamentary group voting against current leader Adrian Delia in a secret vote of confidence, and then asking President George Vella to remove Delia from his position following the result.
It’s all down to Malta’s constitutional law now, and how its interpreted.
The three legal experts commissioned by the 19 rebel MPs have said the president is constitutionally bound to remove Delia if he can confirm that Delia’s lost support from the majority of his MPs.
However, Vella’s own advisors have reportedly interpreted the constitution differently, leaving the President to make the decision.
Back in 2017, Delia had beaten Chris Said in a leadership election that saw Delia getting wide support from the PN’s paid-up members even though he was a political newcomer.
Over the last two days, the rebel PN MPs told Vella that they had no longer had faith in Delia, and attempted to have former MEP Therese Comidini Cachia named as their new leader.
Therese Comodini Cachia
They gave three key reasons that Delia needed to go, including the fact that Delia’s attitude had created “irreparable rifts” within the party, they said.
Comidini Cachia has yet to speak publicly since her name was touted as the next potential leader, though she did suddenly announce she was not in favour of abortion in a widely criticised first move.
The current leadership crisis comes after years of infighting in the Opposition Party, with several attempts made to oust Adrian Delia.
For his part, Delia has had dismal results, with a recent survey finding that only 11% of people thought Delia was fit to be Prime Minister. He has failed to make any major inroads following a massive electoral defeat for the PN in the 2017 general election.
Delia has pledged to not leave the party, defiantly saying that he “is in charge” and vowed internal action against the MPs who have worked against him.
What do you think of this current leadership crisis?
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