For a party in Opposition supposedly preparing to challenge government in a general election in a few months' time after two successive huge defeats, in the midst of a pandemic and with stories about corruption and cronyism surfacing on a daily basis, the Nationalist Party needed this week’s rumpus like a hole in the head.
Now when today the latest poll results are published, do not be surprised to find that the recent timid upswing has gone South again.
It was a squall, a sudden storm on a summer day, which we can map out how it developed but not, so far, what its ultimate consequences will be.
It began with Jason Azzopardi rejoicing he had won a libel case against Ċensu l-Iswed, an Adrian Delia supporter, who had alleged Jason Azzopardi had got a Hilton room from Yorgen Fenech for an assignment with a call-girl. The court awarded Azzopardi €1,000 in damages that he promised to donate to charity.
Azzopardi nowhere mentioned Adrian Delia but the latter, stung, reacted with a violent diatribe on Tuesday (when the poll was being carried out) accusing Azzopardi of lying about him in particular about hundreds of messages allegedly exchanged with Yorgen Fenech.
That did it. Facebook and other media were inundated by messages, mostly from the Delia camp, many with name and surname appended, showing that Delia still enjoys total support from his supporters.
The party, in a panic, called for an Executive Committee meeting on Thursday and One News went into overdrive, leading viewers to imagine a street brawl outside the party headquarters.
Then, surprise: there were only reporters outside and, next, the Executive Committee meeting had been called off. Next, Bernard Grech came out and said the two had been reconciled. I watched him closely as he spoke. He was definitely uncomfortable and kept stonewalling.
More was to come. The party published the agreement that had been cobbled together and it had some very damming admissions, mostly from Azzopardi.
He withdrew the allegation that Delia was in the pocket of big business and in particular that he tried to undermine David Casa’s European Parliament election. Damningly, Azzopardi also acknowledged Delia’s fight against corruption regarding the sale of three hospitals to Vitals.
Both committed themselves to help the party in its electoral battle but no sooner than the declaration was published that Delia’s supporters were out on the social media claiming this time that since Delia had been ousted, and Grech elected, on the basis of what had now been admitted to have been a lie, then he was party leader on the strength of a lie.
Such is a political party preparing to challenge government. You couldn’t create it on Netflix.
It is clear that some heavy lifting had been used, such as the threat to ban them both from being candidates, to get the two to sign the document.
The picture the country gets is of a disorganised party with people being at each other’s throats instead of fighting against the government.
Since there is no real belief that there was a reconciliation between the two, all we can expect is for the feud to be solved at the polls. Or maybe it will not be solved even then. Remember how John Dalli got a second lease of his political life when he campaigned as a sort of in-house rebel on the Sliema district?
Azzopardi will always represent the Daphne faction in the party but his daredevil tactics lead him to kamikaze stances that disorient his own backers.
Delia’s choleric temperament leads him to sudden outbursts, very understandable in one who feels he was unjustly booted out.
The problem is how does this spat leave Bernard Grech, now more than ever like a schoolteacher trying to keep two vicious children from harming each other. From this “Order, Order” stance to really inspiring the supporters in the coming campaign is a very tall order.
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