‘Unacceptable to have leader of political party found guilty of domestic violence’ – Delia

Opposition Leader Adrian Delia remained adamant that he would not speak about his personal family situation, given an agreement he made in court with his estranged wife. He did say, however, that nowhere in he world is it acceptable for the Leader of a Political Party to continue in that role after having been found guilty of domestic violence.

The PN Leader is facing allegations of domestic violence, leading to arguments that his position as Leader is no longer tenable, given the allegations themselves. However, Delia remains adamant that he has no intention of stepping down. Videos have also been making the rounds about his personal situation, but Delia argues that they had been heavily edited in a very malicious manner.

During an interview with Andrew Azzopardi on the Ghandi Xi Nghid radio programme yesterday morning, the PN Leader was told that domestic violence is a public issue and that he needs to come clean about the allegations. While Delia would not talk about his personal situation, he did say that he believes it would be unacceptable, anywhere in the world, for a Party leader found guilty of domestic violence to retain that role. By saying this, the PN leader is arguing that he is innocent but, at the same time, is saying that if he is found guilty, he will step down.

During the interview, he was asked about the Party situation, about the Corinthia deal and about the recent migration situation.

The Party

When pushed on the subject of the internal fissure being created in the Nationalist Party, particularly when asked about the pressures from inside the Party for him to step down, Delia insisted that part of this is due to the “wider franchise” within the Party. He made the point that widening the member pool has now captured a ‘real picture of society at large’.

The next point he raised was that he had come from outside the Party structure, which he de- scribed as a move that should be seen as “innovative” and “revolutionary” for any political party in Malta.

Referring to the 54 per cent of the PN paid-up members who had voted for him, Delia made the point that many members did not know who he was or what his political skills were.

Azzopardi then asked him if he regretted his decision to enter politics in view of the recent events surrounding him, to which Delia replied that he now had more will and reasons than before to be a public servant. “What I used to see from the outside, I am now experiencing from the inside. What I used to think existed, was effectively there.”

The Corinthia

As the interview moved towards a discussion of the sectors that were traditionally attracted to the Nationalist Party, the issue of The Corinthia Group being granted public land for an undervalued price was raised.

Delia insisted that he is in favour of Corinthia continuing to grow, opening more hotels, raising its level to a 6-star establishment and promoting Malta’s name.

What he was specifically against, he said, was the selling of 30,000 sq. metres of public land to a private company for a pittance.

“I am not attacking Corinthia, but I am attacking the Prime Minister who, when asked how he is going to resolve the housing issue for the 3,200 people who are applying for social housing, says that they are only 3,000 and that this number has stayed as it was, but then gives away a prime site worth more than €800 million without a tender for a pittance.

Migration

On the subject of migration, more specifically the events surrounding the two NGO ships that came into Malta on Wednesday after more than 18 days out at sea, Delia explained that when there is this kind of problem, the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader discuss the matter and they will not be in a diametrically opposite position.

He did insist on the fact that Malta should not give in to bullying, because it is a smaller country, and praised the fact that we managed to involve the European Union and its diverse institutions to help with this problem. “I do not think I would have done anything differently.”

Azzopardi also questioned Delia on the time he had asked if “our children are going to end up with teachers from Pakistan and Bangladesh.” He insisted that the reason he had brought this up was because there had been advertising for hiring by the Government in those countries.

“The primary economic argument is that our country cannot keep growing economically solely because of the population. There are economic choices you have to make, and I do not think the government has a plan,” Delia said. “Are they planning schools, roads, an energy plan or an integration plan?”