Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has offered to mediate between his two successors Adrian Delia and Simon Busuttil in a dispute that exploded after the publication of the conclusions of the Egrant inquiry.

Gonzi, who led the PN between 2004 and 2013, has held a first meeting with Busuttil, who succeeded him at the helm of the party, on Wednesday morning.

Gonzi had earlier met with current leader Adrian Delia on Tuesday, with Delia and Gonzi meeting again Thursday morning.

Busuttil has rejected a call by PN leader Adrian Delia to suspend himself from the PN parliamentary group following the publication of the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry which exonerated PM Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle from having opened a company in Panama.

The Egrant allegation, first published by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, was an integral part of the PN’s anti-corruption election campaign. The recently concluded inquiry found no evidence to back up the claims. 

Delia asked Busuttil to suspend himself and is backed by the party administrative council, but a group of 10 MPs have rallied in support of Busuttil.

These 10 MPs, including the former two deputy leaders Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario de Marco, are known to be meeting in a Valletta office to discuss strategy and the way forward.

After resigning from the leadership following the PN’s worst election defeat in history, Busuttil had stayed on as an MP and, after Caruana Galizia had written on her blog about Delia’s difficulties with his income tax, Busuttil had called on Delia to withdraw his candidacy for the party leadership. Delia had persisted in his bid and had eventually been elected leader.

Gonzi had resigned from the PN leadership soon after losing the 2013 election, and later also resigned from Parliament. Busuttil chose to only resign from the leadership but retained his parliamentary seat.

Former Minister and PN MP Censu Galea has weighed in on the current rift within the PN.

He said, in his statement, that he has worked for 45 years within the PN, with loyalty to the principles which were the basis of PN policies.

He said that many spoke to him about the situation within the PN, and that he is ready to help. He appealed to both sides for unity, and for both to remember that they both have one aim.