General council members are being asked to vote between the “PN of the past and the PN of hope,” party leader Adrian Delia said on Friday.
He was addressing an extraordinary session of the general council, with members voting on whether the general convention should hold a vote of confidence in him or a leadership election.
In an impassioned speech, Delia said councillors must choose between the pre-2013 PN that so many people had abandoned, the PN of the few, or the PN of the many.
Delia said the party’s tesserati had entrusted him to lead the party for five years. Last year, the general council backed him again. “We knew that the New Way would be met with harsh resistance.”
“I am here before you for a third time. Change is never easy, but we have to believe that it is what we need. The methods of the past resist those of the present, but we have to have faith that this is being done because it is the just thing to do for the party. The road to change always triumphs, in the end.”
Delia said he has never given up or let himself be intimidated. “I sacrificed everything and suffered on a personal level. I lost my family and gave up my business. There were times when I cried alone, because I am a person like you. But every heartache led to more motivation and determination that we can achieve what we set out to do three years ago.”
The PN leader said he faced a corrupt and criminal government but was never afraid. “I went to court on my own to get our hospitals back. I exposed myself to great personal and financial risk, but I did not give up and will not rest until the people get back what belongs to them. I am determined to succeed.”
“We piled up pressure on Joseph Muscat’s government until it collapsed. Thanks to our pressure, Keith Schembri, Chris Cardona and Konrad Mizzi resigned. So did the Police Commissioner. I won the case to have the Egrant report published.”
A month later, Delia said, it was claimed that he was under investigation by the FIAU, but this was untrue. “I challenged anyone with information to come forward by no one did. They attacked my family when they found nothing against me. I have nothing to be afraid of. I have no money abroad. I did not launder money or open companies abroad. I never accepted money from anyone. No, I don’t have hundreds of thousands in the bank, but that is not a crime. I will never give in to corruption.”
Delia said he had inherited a party that was in a grave financial situation, but the situation has changed. Memberships have increased and new people have asked to become election candidates.
“Over the past three years I sought to unite the party. We have to acknowledge that there are a number of MPs who have tried to remove me. They did not manage through the constitution, so they are now trying through the party statute. There are many nationalists who are angered and frustrated by what is happening within the party they love.”
“Forgive me if I failed you or hurt you, but I am determined to see the mandate you trusted me with through to the end.”
The PN is at a crossroads, he said. “You have a clear choice before you …. a PN of of the many or of the few. Let us confirm the leader, not because it is me, but because we are so close to an election and we have to be prepared for it together. We cannot put up a good fight against our adversaries if we are not united. You elected me for five years and I don’t want us to stop mid-way through.”
Delia said that, in order to achieve better survey results, the party must be united.
“This is not a party of the select few but a party for all. There is a place for everyone. We are their voice.”
Delia said a name change for the party was proposed recently but he did not agree with the change, “because the PN has nothing to be ashamed of.”
“With your vote, I will go to the tesserati to be confirmed. With their backing, we will be in a position to give a new lease of life to the party. If you feel the same passion, determination and love towards the party, then a new dawn will break tomorrow.”
People out there are waiting, he said, but they do not want to return to a pre-2013 PN. “They want a PN that serves and respects people. This is not a vote about Adrian Delia, or about the PN, but about whether we want the PN of the past or the PN of the people. A PN of the few, or a PN of hope.”