A change in the Nationalist Party leadership will leave the party in the same poor state, the Labour Party said Friday.

In their debate, the two candidates for the post - Adrian Delia and Alex Borg - ended up contradicting each other as the vie to become the fifth PN leader in the last 12 years.

"One understands today why the Nationalist Party has insisted so much that no debates are held between the two candidates, except this Thursday evening on its own party station. A decision that was harshly condemned by independent media, IGM and OSCE, among others," the PL said.

In this debate, Delia and Borg ended up correcting each other on the most basic things, from the necessary changes in the internal structures of the Nationalist Party to the electoral results achieved in recent years by the Nationalist Party in Gozo.

Both candidates attacked each other personally, with Borg saying that people do not want a leader who fights, a direct implication to Delia's divisiveness, and Delia commenting in bad taste about a sensitive and personal moment of the Borg family, the PL said.

Both contestants made it clear that they are against progressive reforms. In fact, they boasted that they voted against the IVF in Parliament and that on similar topics they will only follow the PN statute.

Instead of talking about proposals to improve people's lives, the two candidates followed the extremist faction tactics, with raging attacks against the Government, the PL said.

It is clear more than ever that Delia and Borg cannot offer any substance for our country to move forward and for the people's greatest priorities to continue to be addressed.

It is clear that this change in PN leadership will not change the PN. This election will leave the PN in the same poor state as it was in recent years, the PL said.