It was a classic case of mixed messages yesterday from the two warring Nationalist Party camps, with those supporting current leader Adrian Delia claiming dissenting MPs are in retreat, and with those backing former leader Simon Busuttil insisting yesterday they have an “absolute majority” of PN MPs who are “prepared to stand up to be counted”.

A week, it is said, is a long time in politics and in the wake of events since last Sunday, the Nationalist Party can certainly vouch for that. The party has spent the last week since the release of the Egrant inquiry conclusions last Sunday in turmoil and internal conflict in what can be described as a total meltdown.

In the conclusions’ wake, Delia stripped his predecessor Simon Busuttil of his Good Governance portfolio and invited him to suspend himself from the party’s parliamentary group. That sparked off an all out revolt among PN MPs, with those loyal to Busuttil launching the #notinmyname social media campaign aimed at defending the former leader.

Speaking on INDEPTH, Delia never denied that such a movement to oust him was taking place this week, and sources close to Delia told this newspaper yesterday that those efforts had been abandoned, claiming that only four Nationalist MPs and two Partit Demokratiku MPs were still prepared to make a move to oust Delia as Opposition leader.

“Had they continued with their efforts, they would have faced immediate action from the Party’s Executive Council, which had in the past suspended Franco Debono and Jeffery Pullicino Orlando,” sources said.

Those aligning themselves with Busuttil, however, had quite a different take on the matter.

Insisting that this week’s rebellion, played out in part in full public view on social media, was not a coup, and that no such coup is underway, sources close to Busuttil speaking to this newspaper yesterday said that the renegade MPs had rallied against the decision to “unfairly oust a former leader from the party, and not to oust the current leader”.

But, a number of sources close to Busuttil warned yesterday, “If they [the Delia faction] pursue this fatally flawed path [to oust Busuttil], they will be surprised that there is an absolute majority, much more than 50 per cent plus one, who are prepared to stand up to be counted to this historic injustice. Whoever believes otherwise is suffering a serious bout of lack of reality testing.”

Another leading MP backing Busuttil said: “The huge backlash against the decision and the overwhelming wave of popular support in favour of Simon Busuttil, even from people who had campaigned heavily for Dr Delia in the leadership contest, are both noteworthy.

“It’s not amiss to point out that Dr Delia has been refusing calls by MPs to convene the parliamentary group.”

Such is the sensitivity of the situation that no one from either faction was willing to go on record when contacted yesterday.

Following a week of lobbying against Delia, PN MP Jason Azzopardi was seen and photographed hugging the PN leader during the Paola festa on Friday. The photo, which started doing the rounds on Facebook, raised concern among some rebelling MPs, who said they felt cheated by Azzopardi who spearheaded the #notinmyname campaign but who also posed for photos with Delia on Friday after a week of aggravation.

Also on Facebook, Azzopardi yesterday posted William Shakespeare’s “Et tu, Brute?” (Julius Caesar’s final words) remarking how “these words have taken on a bigger meaning these days. And I am not speaking about myself.”

The PN, by all accounts, is in for another long week of internal conflict with moderate, level-headed party stalwarts will continue attempting to mediate between the two sides. But in the meantime, it is more than evident, and confirmed by sources from both sides of the PN factions, that while Busuttil shows no sign of accepting Delia’s invitation to fall on his sword over the Egrant conclusions and suspend himself from the parliamentary group, Delia has not budged an inch from the position he declared last Sunday.

While Busuttil’s people insist they have the absolute majority of MPs on board to force Delia’s hand, Delia’s insiders contend he is now in a stronger position than Busuttil after he refused to concede to calls from some MPs to convene the Parliamentary Group last Monday and instead waited until he could identify the MPs seeking to destabilise his leadership. In the meantime, Delia also obtained the unanimous support of the party’s administrative council.

Delia’s next move could be to present a motion to the executive council, where he commands a strong majority as he does in the administrative council.

Meanwhile, Delia has requested former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to mediate with Busuttil, while MEP Francis Zammit Dimech and fellow party stalwart, minister and EU Commissioner Tonio Borg told The Malta Independent online earlier that they were drafting the terms of reference for an agreement between Delia and Busuttil.

Those terms of reference have not been made public so far and The Malta Independent could not confirm whether these have been accepted and acted on.