Roberta Metsola has declared that she will not run for the post of PN leader.
In a long Facebook post, Metsola - who was touted as one of the main contenders to contest Adrian Delia's leadership - said that the way things have progressed “my candidature will force a long-drawn out process that will damage not heal.” She also spoke about there being consensus that there needs to be one candidate going forward.
“Thank you for all your messages of encouragement and support. The process underway within the PN is not an easy one but is one that is needed.”
She said that the PN needs to be able to speak to a new generation. “It needs to reach out to an electorate that feels forgotten and politically homeless. It needs to offer solutions. It needs to heal. It needs to be honest about its failures.”
Metsola spoke of the need to offer people hope and justice. “We need to offer people options of prosperity and we need to protect our environment. Those are the three themes we need to fight for. However it is dressed up, the same old way, using the same old model, repeating the same old soundbites, will only see the same old results. My position was always clear: we need radical change or we will become irrelevant.”
She said that with a leadership election looming, “I have made it clear that I will do my duty and was ready to throw my hat in the ring should that help heal the Party, push forward a platform for change, present our vision for Malta and ultimately be the government-in-waiting Malta deserves.”
She said that she will keep fighting for those values, “for the politics of the centre that I have always stood for. For that vision of change. But some ceilings need a few more cracks before they can be smashed.”
She said that her years in every branch of the party have shown her that to be able to lead the PN, “and more importantly lead the PN into Government - the ‘why’ is more important than the ‘who’”.
“These have been days of soul searching, tough discussions and difficult negotiations. There is consensus that there needs to be one candidate going forward - our party will simply not survive another drawn out destructive leadership contest.”
“It is clear to me that with the way things have progressed my candidature will force a long-drawn out process that will damage not heal. Leadership is also about doing the right thing even when it is hard and I’ve taken the hard decision to not be a candidate at this time.”
“I will support the agenda of change within the PN and continue standing up for the Malta and Gozo we all want to see.”
Metsola, who is a member of the European Parliament representing the PN, was touted as one of the potential candidates for the PN leadership post along with a host of other names.
She was one of the 19 parliamentary group members who voted against the leadership of Adrian Delia in a parliamentary group confidence vote some weeks ago, which ultimately kicked off the current saga that the PN is facing.
Applications for those who wish to throw their hat into the PN leadership ring close on Monday.
The Nationalist Party is currently in the middle of a leadership contest, with applications set to close on Monday. Other potential runners are Therese Comodini Cachia, Joe Giglio and Bernard Grech.
Current Leader Adrian Delia has already declared that he will run.