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Motion Of No Confidence In Delia Tabled In Crucial PN Meeting

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

Sources told Lovin Malta that executive council members are currently locked in debate over the motion with a secret vote being floated. Sources said that the debate would be a lengthy discussion. 

Delia faced a secret vote in the confidence vote among members of the PN parliamentary group and lost, triggering a constitutional crisis. PN heavyweights like former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi are present in the meeting. 

Losing tonight’s vote will not necessarily oust Delia as PN and Opposition leader. It will take a vote among the general council to remove him from the role. However, a motion for a leadership election has also filed, sources said.

It remains to be seen whether any disciplinary action will be proposed against MPs who voted against Delia. Yesterday evening, Delia named four MPs (Comodini Cachia, David Thake, Claudette Buttigieg and Chris Said) that he would never trust again, pledging drastic changes to his shadow cabinet.

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.

Do you think Adrian Delia will survive tonight’s confidence vote? Comment below 

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Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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