The “establishment” has won, the Labour Party said on Saturday, shortly after it emerged that Bernard Grech is set to become the next PN leader.

Unofficial figures show that Grech obtained around two-thirds of the votes cast by the tesserati.

In a statement, the PL said the election showed the division that exists within the PN factions. The same establishment of past PN dynasties, which the people had voted out, has won again, it said.

“With Bernard Grech, the PN will go back to the days of higher energy bills, an an open-door migration policy and an inferiority complex when dealing with other countries. He is a leader who lacks a vision for the country.”

The PL said that, while the PN grassroots sent out a strong message, more than 3,000 members had chosen to “stay at home.”

If Grech wants to be taken seriously, he needs to come clean about his tax issues and under declaring of income, it added.

“Today’s election was won by the faction of Simon Busuttil, Jason Azzopardi and Karol Aquilina,” is said. “Politics that divide rather than unite.”