Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has put seconded a motion calling for a leadership race during tonight’s crucial executive council meeting, with a no-confidence vote in embattled leader Adrian Delia also set to take place.

Gonzi, who is an executive council member, had called for a similar election 2012 when he was Prime Minister after losing several crucial parliamentary votes, including the budget vote, and confidence motions against former ministers Austin Gatt and Carm Mifsud Bonnici.

The crisis emerged after Franco Debono went against party lines. Debono was chastised for his decision to do so and was removed from the PN for going against the party, an action currently being floated to current dissenting MPs. Debono has urged the party to not follow a similar path during the current crisis and has urged unity.

Earlier Michael Axiaq, a former Delia supporter, tabled the no-confidence motion. Sources have claimed that tensions are running high with Delia refusing to even acknowledge some council members presented.

Losing tonight’s vote will not necessarily oust Delia as PN and Opposition leader. It will take a vote among the general council or leadership election to remove him from the roles.

Delia has been facing renewed pressure ever since the vote. However, President George Vella handed him a lifeline after declaring he would not remove Delia as Opposition Leader, despite losing the majority of his MPs.

In a statement, President George Vella confirmed that 16 Opposition MPs, the majority of the PN parliamentary group, declared they don’t have trust in Delia as Opposition leader, while 11 MPs said they still trust him. One MP, believed to be Stephen Spiteri, abstained.

The Constitution states that the President should revoke the appointment of the Opposition leader if another MP gains the support of the majority of Opposition MPs.

However, Vella noted that while Delia has indeed lost the support of the majority of his MPs, he had to consider the consequences of removing him as Opposition leader, namely the immediate question of who will replace him.

Since Delia became PN leader in 2017 after beating rival Chris Said in an election determined by the party’s paid-up members, he has failed to make any inroads, with just 11% of people saying they thought he was fit to be Prime Minister.

A motion of no confidence in the leadership of Adrian Delia has been presented in tonight’s executive council meeting of the Nationalist Party.

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