Adrian Delia, Bernard Grech submit nomination for PN leadership

The Nationalist Party electoral commission has received two nominations for the leadership race, that of incumbent Adrian Delia and one from Bernard Grech, who is being pushed by the anti-Delia faction of the party.

Delia said he had formally submitted his nomination on Thursday evening, with Grech filing his candidacy formally on Friday.

It is likely that these will be the only two candidacies for the post, but nominations will officially close on Monday. If this is so, then the PN will go immediately to the holding of a national convention during which the paid-up members will choose between the two candidates.

In a brief post on Facebook, Delia, who is still serving as PN and Opposition Leader, said he had informed the PN electoral commission of his candidacy.

“I will go for this election with great determination and

courage,” he wrote, adding that he has full faith in the paid-up members who will be voting.

“I was the one who wanted a final decision by the tesserati,” he said. “Now it is in your hands to choose the destiny of this party.”

The choice is clear, Delia said, repeating his slogan for the election: “New way, new people.”

Writing a longer piece on Facebook, Grech said that he believes in the common good, and that it is only achieved when nobody holds back. “From the big, to the small, from business people to workers, from those who cannot make ends meet, to pensioners. All should have the freedom to advance, and while doing so help develop the community we live in."

He said that this belief reflects the PN's principles, that it was always a party for the people, with a vocation to serve the interests of the common good, of the people.

"For me, a political party is just a tool to help create this good, and to work for the people's dignity."

He said that the people must always come first and that one cannot speak about things like justice and the fight against corruption if people are on the brink of poverty, jobless, or going hungry.

That is why, he said, the politics on which the basis for all of this will be set is the body with which to create this good. If politics is the body, then the economy is the blood that gives life to the body, and that is why the economy needs to benefit everyone, include everyone.

He spoke of the need for new ideas and sectors, and said that one had to listen to the business sector in order to create an economy with dignified work and a just pay.

Grech said he also believes in the interdependency between people and the environment. "As such, people cannot benefit from a better quality of life separated from the environment. That is why I want a greener Malta."

Turning to the environment, he said that he believes that development can take place while integrating nature into it.

He also mentioned civil society organisations who were instrumental in the fight against corruption, which remains one of the largest preoccupations for the people, and said that it would be good for the PN to collaborate with them.

He said that if the wealth generated in the country begins to go into the pockets of a few people illegally, or because of corruption or greed, it would mean that the country would bleed, as the economy which is the country's lifeblood."

"Yes to legitimate profit and work that generates work. No to corruption and greed. Like this Malta can reacquire a good reputation that it had in the previous PN administration. I am not saying that the PN was perfect, who is? Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes."

He said that he listened to the calls made by the people who love the country and the party, and after speaking with his family, “I came to the conclusion that I will offer myself to serve as the PN leader.”

Therese Comodini Cachia, Roberta Metsola, Franco Debono and Mark Anthony Sammut, who were all being named as potential candidates, have said they will not be contesting.