Franco Debono Emerges As Second Favourite For PN Leader And Bernard Grech Only Musters A Meagre 4% In New Poll
Franco Debono may have been out of the political scene for a decade but he remains an extremely popular figure within the Nationalist Party.
Lovin Malta last week released an online poll, asking people who they think should be PN leader and providing a choice of nine options whose names keep getting brought up in leadership discussions.
With over 1,400 votes cast, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola emerged the clear favourite, winning 29% of the public responses.
Debono came in second place, winning 18% of the vote, ahead of MP Alex Borg (12%), MP and former leader Adrian Delia (9%), MP Joe Giglio (8%), and MPs Jerome Caruana Cilia and Mark Anthony Sammut (both 6%).
This is striking considering he hasn’t been politically active in so many years.
PN leader Bernard Grech could only muster 4% of the vote, indicating he is one of the least popular potential leaders, only one percentage point ahead of Darren Carabott.
While these kinds of polls shouldn’t be interpreted as scientific surveys, they can certainly be indicative – indeed a similar poll had correctly predicted The Busker’s Malta Eurovision victory last weekend.
Grech’s low popularity should come as a serious concern for him seeing as he had actually topped the list of a Lovin Malta PN leadership survey in 2020.
Back then, Grech won 36% of the vote, making him the most popular leadership option by a clear mile, ahead of Roberta Metsola (17%), then-leader Adrian Delia (15%), and Franco Debono (13%).
Grech used to be the most popular choice for PN leader
Sharing the results of the new survey, Debono said that while he supports Grech as PN leader, the public vote “fills him with humility and motivation to contribute” to the party.
“Coming in second place after being inactive in the party for ten years is no joke,” he said, recounting how his name had also featured in a survey conducted by MaltaToday last year which asked PN councillors who should lead the party.
Debono said he has evidence that the people who voted for him as an ideal leader include someone with whom he had an acrimonious relationship during his time in politics, but with whom he has now reconciled.
“It was a surprise that filled me with greater humility and motivation to contribution,” he said. “It means that with goodwill, the party can reconcile with anyone. There should be room for everyone, and everyone must compromise and find the good in others. The greatest enemies of progress are those people who believe the party is their own private property and those who believe that when you fight for someone, it should be an endless war.”
“Those kinds of people don’t belong in politics, but the others should all be welcomed with open arms – that’s the only way the PN can rise from the dead.”
Who do you think should lead the PN?
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