David Thake, the favourite to take Simon Busuttil’s spot in Parliament, issued a stinging criticism of PN Leader Adrian Delia’s tenure following his latest abysmal performance in surveys.

“Two things are apparent here.”

“1) The Labour party is not running off with popular support but remains very strong, especially in the absence of a strong opposition.”

“2) The PN leadership is pushing people away from voting PN. If that didn’t change in 30 months, it won’t change moving forward.”

“People are placed in positions of power to take decisions for the good of those they lead. I hope this happens after reading these figures,” Thake said.

Thake is a long-standing critic of Delia, even resigning as a PN local councillor in St Paul’s Bay because of his leadership.

His latest firing shot, a few weeks before he could take a parliamentary seat, should be a warning sign for Delia, with the statement a veiled call for him to resign.

Pressure is mounting on Delia after he scored his lowest ever trust rating in a Malta Today survey, with Prime Minister Robert Abela recording the highest ever of any sitting party leader.

The PN and Delia have failed to make any headway from the recent political crisis, with the party losing six percentage points over that period.

Worryingly for Delia, Abela is also winning over PN supporters, with 22.5% of PN voters putting their faith in Abela, just 10% less than Delia.

Delia has kept stubborn, telling a PN rally that he will continue on regardless of survey results.