PN leader Adrian Delia said that on his part, no bridges have been irreparably burnt, but said that for there to be a bridge in the first place, there has to be good will on both sides of it.

Delia was speaking outside Parliament before President George Vella decided that he will not remove the embattled PN leader from the post of Opposition leader, in spite of the fact that 16 out of the PN’s 27 MPs had told him that they supported Therese Comodini Cachia over him.

Delia said that as party leader, he is obliged to bring people into the party, not to turn them away.

However, he said, for there to be bridges, there must be an honest attempt from both sides. “I am obliged to remain open, but there has to be good intentions to work together”, he said.

He said that he had not spoken to fellow MP Chris Said since the Gozitan put forward a motion to the President to have Delia removed from the post of Opposition leader, however said that he is open to speaking to everyone.

Asked whether he would make the first step to rebuild the said bridges, Delia said that he feels that he has made all the necessary steps to do so, and that he would continue to do what he thinks is best for the party and for the country, noting that there are issues of significant importance for the country ongoing at the moment – referring to the lost memorandum of understanding between the government and Vitals Global Healthcare.

Asked whether he feels that he is to blame for the situation getting to such a point, Delia said that it is not a question of blame but of responsibility.  He admitted that he had a part of the responsibility to share and shoulder – saying that he is shouldering that already – but that others also have to take some responsibility as well.

That responsibility however, he said, has to be shouldered in one direction.

Asked about Tuesday’s PN Executive and whether he will be putting forward a no-confidence vote in the MPs who voted against him, Delia said that this is not his intention.

Delia was also asked by this newsroom whether he would step down if the party executive votes not to support him, but the PN leader replied that the most important thing in this time is to wait for the President’s decision, and then see from there.