Opposition Leader Adrian Delia has insisted that he will be leading the PN into the next general election.
He was responding to questions by the press after a Parliamentary Group meeting was held on Wednesday evening in the wake of a damning survey that found that Adrian Delia's trust rating has plummeted to just 13.5%.
Delia has been facing fresh concerns about his position as leader as a result. The survey, carried out by MaltaToday, found that Prime Minister Robert Abela enjoys a trust rating of 62.5%. Delia's critics have said that the party leader's popularity has plummeted despite the corruption scandals that came out over the past few months, in what they say is a clear sign that the current party leadership is failing miserably at gaining support.
In a survey conducted in December 2019, Delia had registered a trust rating of 21.3%, against then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's 50.5%
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Delia said that everything was discussed including the surveys, the political situation, the Parliamentary situation, all the eventualities looking forward to the next months and the best way how the PN could react to everything going on in the country.
When asked whether the group discussed his resignation, Delia explained that everything was discussed. “We discussed in a constructive manner… when you are constantly working on something and not gaining the expected results, you begin to question everything and examine everything.”
He said that the parliamentary group has full confidence in him. He said that it was a coincidence that the group met after the publication of the survey, as the parliamentary group meet every fortnight. When asked whether he would be leader of Opposition for the next general election, Delia gave a straight to the point yes.
“We are discussing the Party’s reforms for the year, which we are hoping to finish soon, and our message is that the changes we are discussing are changes which will make the party stronger. It is clear that we discuss surveys, but the changes we are applying are not due to the surveys, but emerge from the political analysis we have made.” When asked for further details on the reforms, he said that discussions are still on-going and it would be “unjust” to explain the reforms and meetings in a few words.
“The reforms delve into different aspects, such as the financial aspect, the media, the administration, it goes across the board.”
Delia then went back inside the PN HQ.
The meeting started at around 7pm and lasted several hours.
Most MPs chose not to comment when asked whether Delia should step down upon entering the meeting earlier in the day.
Indeed PN MP Herman Schiavone said a call for a resignation was not on the meeting's agenda when he was entering the PN HQ. "I don't doubt the survey," he said. "It is the result of a number of factors and everyone has to examine the reasons why the party obtained such a result."
Pressed to say whether Delia should step down, Schiavone said the party leader had already been confirmed twice.
"This is not on the agenda. This is a parliamentary group meeting like we have every week and we will be discussing the parliamentary agenda and other party matters."