The former Opposition leader said he feels freed up by the lack of bureaucracy and structure that leading a major party entails.

“Strangely, I’m now doing more of the kind of politics that is close to my heart. Beyond the obstructions of the party, administration, finances, management, and human resources, I now have more chances to meet with people in their everyday lives.”

“Some people call me up, and it would be about a problem that has been going on for a while. When I ask them why they hadn’t called me before [when he was PN leader], they tell me that I had more important things to do or that I was too busy.”

“When I go for a morning walk, people speak to me about their simple everyday experiences, things that are hard to live through when you’re totally immersed in the political sphere. As a leader, you’d entrust some people with following the media and others on informing you about the public pulse. However, it’s different to walking in the street and ending up speaking to people in their garage or at the grocer.”

“You can speak without the media present, without the responsibility of having to speak for the party, and with all the time in the world to listen to them without having to drive home some kind of political message.”

“It’s something precious, which gives you a completely different perspective.”  

Delia refused to weigh in on the recent controversy involving NET TV not broadcasting one of two donations he gave to Dar tal-Providenza during its annual New Year’s Day telethon. 

“We can get lost in partisan politics and discuss whether they cut the service or not, but really what do the residents of Dar tal-Providenza even care about all this? I don’t care what [NET’s] intentions were. What I care about was that my reaction wasn’t to ask myself why I bothered making such an effort to raise money only to get criticised for it.”

“On the contrary, I promised to do more, to do double even, and I’m pleased that up until this day someone told me he had missed the donation and asked if it’s too late to help.”

“It’s never too late to help those in need. We’re helping people who don’t even know what partisan politics is, to ensure there’s an institution with the comfort of permanence, capable of helping those who can’t help themselves.”

During his interview, Delia repeatedly criticised the ‘tribalisation’ of Maltese politics, urging politicians to focus on improving people’s lives rather than on petty political warfare.

“We should be more objective and less tribal; if I want to achieve one thing in politics, it’s to eliminate hatred. We must understand that the Maltese people hate hatred.”

What do you make of Adrian Delia’s comments?