The Nationalist Party has cancelled an emergency executive meeting called to discuss a Facebook spat between the party’s former leader Adrian Delia and one of its MPs Jason Azzopardi after the two parties made up and expressed their desire to work together for the party.

A joint statement signed by both Delia and Azzopardi, indicated seven points directed at clearing the air over certain grievances which have been ever present in the past two years.

The meeting was scheduled after a post which Azzopardi uploaded on Tuesday, where he announced that he had won a libel case against former Delia canvasser Vincent Borg (known as Censu l-Iswed) and that he had forgiven him because he knew that he had been “used, deceived, and manipulated”, drew a furious reaction from Delia – who invited Azzopardi to sue him, and challenged him on a number of accusations he had made about him in the past.

The first point in the joint statement published by the party reads that there was no intention in Azzopardi’s post to refer or be understood to refer to Delia.

“Both Jason Azzopardi and Adrian Delia respectively recognise in each other politicians who are fully committed to fighting against corruption in public life, which has ravaged our country since the beginning of the Labour administration, with one vitiated contract after another”, the statement read.

In this context, the statement reads that Azzopardi recognises that Delia is singlehandedly fighting against the vitiated contract which granted three hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare in court.

By the same measure, the statement continues, Delia recognises that Azzopardi is at the forefront of the fight against corruption cases in Malta which are publicly uncovered, and is facing risks to himself as a result.

Azzopardi also declared in the statement that Adrian Delia “is not in any businessman’s pockets and fights corruption without any interference or compromise.”

In this context, the statement continues, there is no reason for Azzopardi to think that the PN led by Adrian Delia or Adrian Delia himself had done any action or taken any decision so that David Casa is not elected to the European Parliament, and that “it does not result that there are hundreds of messages between Yorgen Fenech and Adrian Delia.”

This traces back to accusations against Delia that, when he was leader, he and the party had received thousands from Fenech to try and ensure that David Casa was not re-elected as an MEP in the 2019 election.  Delia had always vehemently denied this, but it was an accusation which ultimately caused further damage to his already at the time embattled leadership credentials.

The statement reads that both Azzopardi and Delia are fully committed to, together with the rest of the PN, continue to fight without fear or favour so that the rule of law can return to the country, and so that equal justice can be faced by all in the courts.

“Adrian Delia and Jason Azzopardi are committed to continuing to dedicate their energy and capabilities in favour of the Nationalist Party, and so that the same Nationalist Party can emerge victorious in the next general election”, it concludes.

Neither Delia nor Azzopardi stopped to give full comments to the media after leaving the PN's headquarters in Pieta on Thursday evening following the publication of the statement; with Delia saying that he had not been forced to sign the statement and that it was "crystal-clear", and with Azzopardi saying that all that he had to say is in the statement.

Delia did however say on Facebook that "good had won" and that the Nationalist Party had won as well.