Due to the leadership election the Nationalist Party is going to lose the marathon Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia, presumably referring to the general elections
"Due to this election we lost the marathon. This election give or take is at least a quarter of a million euros which we now have lost. We had a five year plan, which if I win this election; I plan to continue working and building on it. We need to show the people and the banks that we are financially stable and do not need to change the leader every three or four years. We need to discuss and negotiate to get better rates and bring more for the party, for our employees and for our journalists."
Delia was being interviewed on NET FM with journalist Keane Cutajar on Tuesday evening. The interview is part of a number of interviews and discussions held during the PN leadership election. The Nationalist Party leadership election will be held on 3 October.
"Unfortunately we have spent a long time discussing and not creating new measures for the party, due to people who wished to stop our work. We have a number of new candidates for the next general election who wish to work hard and serve for the public." He said that those individuals who do not wish to work, not just with him but for the Nationalist Party, cannot remain there to bring the party down.
When asked what changes he brought to the Party, Delia said that the biggest change was in the party's attitude. "We have changed our attitude, that politicians are humble and do not criticise others or try to convert how people think or judge them."
He said that it is easy for politicians to meet and take pictures with people, and that the Government is an artist at setting up media events. "You need to be there for the people, to listen to them when they tell you how they are struggling to make it to the end of the month. I meet people who wish to give their children better futures, pensioners who are scared to live in their localities and youths who leave Malta because of the pollution, which is killing people."
Earlier this week both Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech passed the due diligence test. When asked how Delia felt about passing the test, after numerous individuals expressed that he was not fit to pass, he said that he is used to being constantly attacked. "I was attacked from everywhere, from outside and inside the party. I continue to fight for the truth, and the truth will always win, if not today, it will tomorrow. I am not scared of anyone, and I know that now is the end of lies and the hour for the truth."
He said that he wishes that every PN candidate also takes part in a due diligence exercise, and that it is introduced for members of the government. "I insist that this be carried out for our ministers."
When asked to explain his slogan "ghaqda b'lealta", he said that he will always stick by the party, the tesserati and stand against criminals. "I joined the party with no connections to the party whatsoever, and now I am here to unite the party and to strengthen it instead of move backwards."
Commenting on the recent surveys which show that the public are losing faith in the Nationalist Party, Delia noted that the party has lost the vote of the majority of people. "Not simply surveys, but also elections over the past few years have shown that we are falling behind. I am not a person who enjoys pointing fingers, but I am aware that we have lost majority of voters; and I am here to learn from our mistakes and see how we can improve the situation." He said that due to the uncertainty brought by the coronavirus pandemic, now is not the time to shift the Nationalist Party, or to affect its five year plan. "We have done three years and seen good results, it was difficult but we managed. We changed the statute so that we can introduce new people and we have a list of new candidates for the party; but there were those who were annoyed by this."