The publication of the conclusions of the Egrant magisterial inquiry has exposed the ever-deepening chasms within the Nationalist Party, with 10 PN MPs (more than a third of the party’s representatives in parliament) marching in open revolution against Leader Adrian Delia’s decision to remove his predecessor, Simon Busuttil, from his shadow cabinet, and call on him to suspend himself from the PN parliamentary group.

Starting off with former Deputy Leaders Mario de Marco and Beppe Fenech Adami, MPs Jason Azzopardi, Karol Aquilina, Claudio Grech, Ryan Callus, Therese Commodini Cachia, Marthese Portelli, Karl Gouder, and Claudette Buttigieg all used the hashtag “#notinmyname, #strongertogether” or backed Busuttil in posts on social media.

Other MPs have openly supported their leader: deputy leaders David Agius and Robert Arrigo, whip Robert Cutajar, secretary general Clyde Puli, Kristy Debono, Mario Galea, and Herman Schiavone.

Edwin Vassallo, Ivan Bartolo,  Fredrick Azzopardi, Maria Deguara, Stephen Spiteri, Toni Bezzina and Carm Mifsud Bonnici had yet to make their positions known yesterday evening.

The newsroom understands that it would require 16 opposition MPs, including Simon Busuttil, and Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia who represent the Partit Demokratiku on the opposition benches, to request the removal of Delia as Leader of the Opposition from the President.  If he were to be removed as Opposition Leader it would not automatically mean that Delia is also removed as PN leader.

The Malta Independent looked at the tumultuous first year of Delia’s leadership of the PN to analyse the growing division since last year’s mammoth election defeat.

 

Election, allegations, and the ‘establishment’ Administrative Council

Following 2013’s resounding defeat in the general election, the divergence of opinion which had been the backbone of Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi’s tenures as Prime Minister began to unravel with the party becoming a sieve of information. The party held together, or so it seemed, with the PN’s divisions coming to the forefront of the leadership election after the even more damaging 2017 general election.

After Busuttil’s resignation, there were a number of calls for unity from all sides of the party, however, this sentiment quickly evaporated as Delia, a candidate chosen by outsiders to the party’s inner circles, began to gain traction in the race. This was further compounded by the serious allegations tabled by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who claimed that money deriving from prostitution in London flats was transferred through an offshore account in Delia’s name.

Delia vehemently denied the claims, saying that he does not have, and never had personal accounts or money abroad. He did acknowledge that he represented a Maltese client who was indeed the landlord of at least one property used for illicit practices, but insisted that his client/landlord was not to be held for the actions of his tenants. Delia opened five libel suits against Caruana Galizia, only to drop them a day after her assassination.

In view of the claims, the previous Administrative Council, which included Karol Aquilina, called on the Ethics Committee to discuss Delia’s candidature.  A subsequent report by the committee urged Delia to reconsider his position, with Busuttil saying he would have withdrawn from the election had he been in Delia’s position.

Delia stood his ground and said that the Ethics Committee had found nothing untoward in his regard and that it was the Administrative Committee, which he described as part of the establishment, that took it upon itself to call for him to back down from the leadership race and issue a statement denigrating his reputation, prejudicing the free vote of party members.

During the turmoil, Azzopardi, in one of many social posts criticising Delia said that “no one but no one should dirty the name, the story or the members of the Nationalist Party. No wonder Castille has remained quiet, it’s hoping that a Trojan horse has entered Dar Centrali”.

The bad blood between the two groups culminated with reports of a brawl between Azzopardi and Delia’s brother on Election Day.

After Delia’s victory, the calls for unity once again began, with the new Leader attempting to bring those distanced by the highly competitive leadership race. Busuttil was made Spokesperson for Good Governance, while Azzopardi was shifted from his preferred justice position to the arguably more important environment portfolio.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Azzopardi even said that “whatever happened prior to the election is water under the bridge and I've shown this in that I have continued to work assiduously and to the best of my abilities.”

“It is our moral duty at the moment to support Delia and back him to the hilt, “he continued.

 

Embryo Motion

The first challenge to Delia’s leadership involved his unsuccessful parliamentary motion regarding a legal notice granting prospective parents leave to undergo medically assisted pregnancy abroad in November 2017. 6 PN MPs abstained against the vote de Marco, Comodini Cachia, Gouder, Aquilina, Said, and Busuttil. Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia both voted against the motion.

 

Domestic Violence Bill

In April 2018, parliament approved the Domestic Violence Bill, with all government MPs voting in favour. The two PD MPs voted in favour, as did eight PN MPs. It should be noted that Delia had allowed his MPs a free vote after clarifying that he was in favour of introducing laws on domestic violence, but the party had an issue with the removal of the protection of the unborn child from the Bill.

The six who voted in favour, Busuttil, Azzopardi, Said, Commodini Cachia, de Marco, Gouder, Aquilina, and Buttigieg, were then attacked by supporters of their own party, with some even being told to ‘forget’ their vote.

 

How the PN media covered the Egrant report

Agendas within political parties are not mutually exclusive to specific groups as an examination of the PN’s reportage of the inquiry’s conclusions shows. The PN’s media arm has appeared to distance itself from Busuttil, being noticeably absent from any article concerning Delia’s or any other reaction from the party. Rather, there was only a mention that he would not accept his leader’s call to suspend himself, failing to recognise the criticism he tabled with regards to Delia. 

Pierre Portelli, the Head of Media.Link and Delia’s right-hand man was shielded by Net News and the party’s other publications, despite him handing over the falsified documents over to the magisterial inquiry. He was never mentioned when it came to the actual reporting of the conclusions or the subsequent press conferences by Delia and Muscat, choosing to carry Portelli’s reply in a separate article.

Muscat also fell victim to the skewed reporting of party media (which One Media is arguably just as guilty of), with the PM not being mentioned in a single headline in in-Nazzjon on Monday, despite him and his wife being the focus of the report. 

The future?

While divisions begin to grow the party’s future becomes dimmer. Busuttil, it can be argued, has been thrown under the bus for the inquiry’s conclusions, especially given the resounding support he had from people who are now in Delia’s inner circle, including Clyde Puli, who had expressly said in a social media post that Egrant belonged to Michelle Muscat.

Delia, on the other hand, would seemingly benefit from the removal of an internal rival, especially given the growing instability within the party.