The PN leadership election has come and gone, but the animosity that existed between Adrian Delia and certain Nationalist MPs persists.

Earlier this week, the outspoken MP, Jason Azzopardi, took another dig at Delia after comments made by Prime Minister Robert Abela regarding a meeting between him and new PN Leader Bernard Grech.

Abela had called on Grech to work with the government on certain central issues but took offence when Grech said he would gladly attend a meeting at the Auberge de Castille. “You can enter Castille when you win an election,” Abela remarked.

Azzopardi was quick to take to Facebook, his weapon of choice, and implied that Abela had had no problem in inviting Delia to Castille but was using a different yardstick with regard to Grech. He said Abela did not need to explain why he was acting differently with the new PN leader. “We know why,” he wrote, implying that there was a more sinister reason behind Delia’s recent meetings with the PM.

Delia was quick to reply, telling Azzopardi that he would not manage to create friction between him and Grech.

Azzopardi was at the forefront of a group of ‘rebel’ MPs who pushed to oust Delia. It had seemed to us that this was not personal. That Azzopardi and his colleagues only had a problem with Delia being the Leader of the Opposition. That much we can understand, for Delia did not manage to make any inroads and bring the PN any closer to winning an election.

But one would have expected the animosity to die down now that the rebel group managed to get Delia to resign and replaced him with their candidate of choice.

One would have also hoped that the leadership election would be the start of a new and united chapter for the PN, where all sides fall in line behind the new leader and focus and what is truly important – becoming an alternative government and giving people the choice of stamping out corruption.

But this is not to be, it seems. Instead, the PN infighting continued, and this will only ensure that the party remains unelectable.

Bernard Grech has said he is willing to work with Delia, and has discussed a new role for his predecessor, who has also decided to retain his parliamentary seat. Delia has also accepted the result and pledged loyalty to the new leader and to the party.

But it seems that not everyone will be adopting this attitude.

With his comments, Azzopardi has only strengthened the impression – the same one pushed by Labour – that the Nationalist Party will remain divided, even after electing a new leader.

This impression is being compounded further by the fact that a number of prominent individuals have resigned from the PN. But there is a difference between what a tesserat does, and how a Member of Parliament acts.

As we point out in an analysis piece today, it is now more than clear that Grech was backed by the people who wanted Delia out, many of whom are part of the so-called PN establishment. Despite Grech’s assurances that this was not the case, the truth emerged on the day when he won the election and videos of him flanked by these same MPs started doing the rounds on social media.

Grech cannot afford to be seen as belonging to one faction or the other. Indeed, the party cannot afford to have any factions. Speaking to journalists the day he was sworn in as Opposition Leader, Grech warned of disciplinary action against those who abuse of their social media. One truly hopes that this will not be required. But in order for this to happen, MPs from both sides must accept the result, put their bitterness aside and understand that, from now onwards, they must act as one team. Delia is no longer Opposition Leader, yet, as an MP he can still contribute to the party and the country, particularly on the battles he is fighting on the Vitals deal.

His colleagues should not only let him work but also fall in behind him and help him out. This is not Delia’s or Azzopardi’s fight. It is a battle the PN must fight as a single unit, for the good of the country.