د . إAEDSRر . س

Adrian Delia’s Day In The Sun: Why The PN Leader Survived, Despite Everything

Article Featured Image

In the end, the result was never really in doubt. A political leader has never lost a confidence vote of this sort, much less when they were uncontested. And even though Adrian Delia’s was the smallest win in Maltese history, it is a victory nonetheless because he lives to fight another day and lead his party to the next general election. The PN’s colossal thrashing at the polls a few months ago, the open rebellion by some party members, the exposé of his ‘troll factory’, and even a last-minute lawsuit by his own estranged wife weren’t enough to convince councillors to show him the door. So how has Delia overcome these challenges?

1. He was democratically voted in by PN members

This is, was and will remain Adrian Delia’s best line of defence. Delia is the first PN leader who was voted in by the party’s own card-carrying members, thanks to a change in the party statute pushed forward by his predecessor. 

One may argue that Simon Busuttil made a mistake and that the tesserati aren’t representative of the PN’s supporters, let alone the Maltese electorate, but the rules of the game are what they are and everyone agreed to them before playing it.

It was inevitable that a formal move against Delia was going to be interpreted as an attempt to overturn democracy, in turn adding weight to the PN leader’s narrative that a party establishment is working against him.

2. He’s a charmer 

Delia’s main selling point throughout his leadership campaign was his own personality, and this remains valid to this day.

Any Maltese politician will tell you that politics here isn’t only about policy proposals but about connecting with constituents on a personal level. It’s perhaps an inevitable feature of the island being so small and society being so interconnected that many people expect politicians to find time to meet them and to display empathy with their problems.

Delia has nailed this spot on and looks most at home when surrounded by people, whether at a village club or a boardroom. Indeed, several Labour supporters have even commented that they like the man on a personal level.

3. He has put his finger on some of Malta’s worst problems

Delia has correctly identified some of Malta’s most pressing problems, from overpopulation and over-construction to corruption, rising property prices and the cost of living. He sounds particularly passionate when speaking about the environment, an issue which is only becoming more critical as more and more precious land gets eaten up.

Of course, he has also been extremely weak when it comes to explaining how his vision for Malta is different than Joseph Muscat’s, relying more on buzzwords and political word salads than actual policies. This will have to change if he expects to lead the country, but at least he has reached the starting point.

4. He isn’t an ideologue

Delia has been described in some quarters as a raging fascist, a racist and a Bible-basher but the reality is more complex than that.

While his rhetoric has certainly gone down well with conservative voters, he has also managed to attract people with viewpoints associated with the ‘liberal’ side of the political spectrum.

His own track record shows that he had voted in favour of divorce despite the Church’s doomsday warnings, had come out in favour of civil unions and is one of the only Maltese politicians to openly admit to having voted against spring hunting.

He has notably also resisted attempts to demonise migrant search and rescue NGOs and the people they pick up at sea, despite Italy’s Matteo Salvini proving this can be a successful political strategy.

The man is a pragmatist, not an ideologue, and with the right advisers by his side, he will be able to appear far more open-minded than he currently does.

5. The party itself has changed since Delia’s election

The PN of today isn’t the same PN Delia inherited back in September 2017. Out of 1,500 councillors who were eligible to vote in the confidence vote, 500 of them were added to the list in the past 18 months.

This sparked some controversy, with the rebels accusing Delia of using “divisive and harmful manoeuvres” to win the confidence vote and the PN insisting that the new members were all added regularly following elections in the past two years.

What is certain is that a third of the PN’s councillors joined the party after Delia became leader, an indication that they subscribe, or at least used to subscribe, to the idea of a party run by the current man in charge. Behind the scenes, Delia has shaken up the PN and the contribution of these new councillors likely had a significant impact on the voting results. 

6. Guerrilla tactics have had a counter effect

In their attempts to force him out, Delia’s critics have too often resorted to a guerrilla-style war of attrition, attacking him by stealth from different angles in the hope that it will lead to death by a thousand cuts.

However, this strategy has only made the ‘rebels’ seem cowardly and has had the opposite effect of making Delia seem like an underdog, allowing him to shore up sympathy across the board.

Moreover, the recent attempt to gain political mileage out of Nickie Vella de Fremeaux’s lawsuit was all too easily played by Delia as an attack on his family, something which is anathema to the Maltese public.

7. No one stepped up to replace him

Ivan Bartolo speaks to the press before filing a petition for a vote of confidence in Adrian Delia

Ivan Bartolo speaks to the press before filing a petition for a vote of confidence in Adrian Delia

Despite all the criticism levelled at Delia and his style of leadership, no one wanted to bell the cat and actually challenge him for the post. Whether it’s because the rebels couldn’t agree on a person to rally behind or because potential contenders were scared such a move would be political suicide, the end result was that the only person voters saw as a leader was Delia himself.

The rebels didn’t motivate people in the middle to rally behind a person who could change the party’s disastrous fortunes around. Instead, they asked people to have blind trust, to take a step into the unknown and risk throwing the party into further turmoil without the promise of a better future.

And with the battleground designed in this way, there was only ever going to be one outcome.

READ NEXT: ‘Respect Democracy’: Adrian Delia Supporters Respond To Rebels With Facebook Page Of Their Own

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All