PN leader Alex Borg does not face the same Roberta Metsola "shadow" that existed during "my time" at the helm of the party, former PN leader Bernard Grech said, acknowledging that when he led the party there had been an expectation that Metsola would eventually take over the leadership.

Speaking in an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Grech said surveys at the time indicated that people expected Metsola, who is President of the European Parliament, to eventually become PN leader.

"It is true that people expected Roberta Metsola to become leader of the Nationalist Party, and this was also evident in the surveys. When I resigned, that opportunity was there, but it was not taken," he said.

Grech said Borg does not face the same situation today because the expectation that Metsola will eventually take over the party leadership appears to have subsided.

"Today, Alex Borg does not have the same shadow because nobody is saying that anymore. From what we can see and from what I hear, that expectation no longer appears to be there," he said.

"That means Alex Borg can continue to grow as a politician and as a leader. It also means that the Nationalist Party can continue to grow and become stronger."

Asked why such expectations had developed when he was party leader, Grech acknowledged that he himself had strongly promoted her during his leadership.

"I have no difficulty saying that I pushed Roberta forward a great deal," he said, adding that Metsola had continued to build her international profile.

Grech recalled inviting Metsola to address one of the PN's Independence mass meetings ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election.

"I think it was natural for people, seeing Roberta with such a strong international profile, to think that she could help the party advance further. I think it was natural for people to think that way."

While discussing the party's future and his own role within the PN, Grech did not close the door on potentially contesting a European Parliament election in the future.

Asked whether he could see himself doing so, Grech said he had never planned his political career around particular positions, recalling that becoming PN leader had not originally been part of his plans either.

"I have always looked at what my duty is at that particular moment in my life," he said.

"Without doubt, the party will have its choices. I am ready to help the party succeed in whatever role may be needed, but I do not rule anything out, even though I have no personal plan to do so," Grech said.

Grech also spoke positively about Borg's leadership, and said any comparison between the two leaders must take into account the different circumstances in which each took over the party.

"Everyone has their own style, and everyone operates according to the circumstances and the time they find themselves in," Grech said.

He recalled becoming PN leader in October 2020, when the party was facing significant internal difficulties.

"You cannot simply compare what is visible from the outside. You also have to understand all the circumstances," he said.

"I am proud to say that I left Alex Borg a strong party at an organisational level, in terms of internal relations, and also in terms of how we increased investment in our properties and the income generated from them."

Grech said Borg had taken that foundation and continued building on it, just as he himself had sought to build on the work carried out by those who preceded him.

He identified Borg's appeal among younger voters as one of the differences between their leaderships.

"Without doubt, Alex appeals more to younger generations. I therefore feel that the step which we still needed to take within the party during my time is one that Alex Borg is now taking, steadily and very well," he said.

"It is not only because he is young, but also because fresh and different ideas allow him to do this."

Grech added that despite Borg's young age, he approaches decisions "in a very mature way."

The two have maintained a "very good relationship," Grech said, adding that they have opportunities to discuss issues and that Borg sometimes asks him for advice.

"I always give it to him wholeheartedly because I want to see him succeed, not just for his own sake," Grech said, explaining that Borg's success would mean that the party itself grows and becomes stronger.

Grech also backed Borg's plans to substantially amend the PN statute, including through the return of two deputy leaders.

"First of all, Alex, as leader, has said that he will make major changes to the statute, and that means there will be substantial changes. He is right to do so because, as he has explained, the statute will allow him to operate better and with fewer restrictions," he said.

Grech said having two deputy leaders would allow each to concentrate on a different area.

Asked directly whether he would contest for one of those positions, Grech said he is not interested.

"It is not my intention to contest because I believe that the party needs to continue moving forward," he said.

"I will always be willing to help the party in whatever role the party needs me, and the leader needs me. But it is not in my plans to contest for deputy leader."

He then joked: "Nevertheless, my support is as much as having another deputy leader."

Grech also reflected on his own five years leading the PN, saying he had taken over a party facing significant internal difficulties and had not originally intended to become its leader.

"I found a party which had major internal difficulties, as was obvious. I was very concerned at the time," he said.

"I had no plan to become party leader, but at that moment I felt an obligation to do something, and I understood that I had the qualities which were needed at that time."

Grech had taken over from Adrian Delia in 2020 after the two contested for the post in an election that followed a vote of no confidence in Delia in the parliamentary group and executive council. He resigned in June 2025.

Looking back at his tenure, Grech said he believed he had left behind a united and stronger party.

While the PN lost the 2022 general election just over a year after he became leader, Grech said the result had to be viewed against the backdrop of the state the party had been in during the summer of 2020.

"Perhaps it is not fair to compare it only with the previous election. You also have to look at where the party was heading and where we then managed to bring it back to," he said.

Grech pointed to the PN's performance in the 2024 European Parliament and local council elections as an important moment in the party's recovery. In that EP election, the PN elected three of Malta's six MPs, bagging just 8,000 fewer votes than the Labour Party.

He said he was proud that the party had achieved its best results in recent times in those elections, pointing to the significant narrowing of Labour's advantage.

"When I look particularly at the European Parliament election, we went from a gap of around 40,000 to around 8,000, as well as making gains in the local council elections. That was a big improvement," he said.

"I think that was the beginning of a path of change, which has now also been sustained in the latest general election. I look forward to seeing this improving trend continue until we win the election."

Grech also maintained that the PN was in a better financial position when he stepped down than when he took over.

"Yes, I did," he said, when asked whether he had left the party financially stronger.

"First of all, we managed to reduce the debt."

Grech said that during his leadership, the party also collected and set aside the money needed to close a trust established during Simon Busuttil's leadership, under which a number of PN clubs had been ring-fenced against money loaned to the party.

The remaining legal technicalities were now being concluded for the trust to be closed, he said.

Asked whether more could have been done to address the party's finances, Grech said: "More can always be done. Always."

He said, however, that the death of former MP Karl Gouder had dealt the party a major blow just as it was preparing to begin what he described as the second part of its project.

"We were going to begin the second part of our project. It was mainly centred around Karl Gouder becoming the new secretary general," Grech said.

Gouder died in September 2024, two days after announcing his intention to run for the post of party secretary general.

Grech said he felt that he had left the PN politically stronger, more united and in a better financial position.

He also addressed the party's return to the Floriana Granaries for its Independence celebrations this year, saying a return to the venue had not been a priority during his leadership.

"It wasn't the priority," he said.

Grech said that when he took over, the party was in a position where it first needed to rebuild and grow.

He noted that his first Independence celebrations as leader, in 2021, were still affected by Covid restrictions and were held in the square in front of the Phoenicia Hotel.

In the following three years, the PN held its celebrations in the large area around the Triton Fountain.

"We had no fear of taking on much larger spaces, and in fact we did so successfully," he said.

"I feel that returning to the Granaries now was the next step. I am pleased that Alex Borg took that next step, precisely because the party has continued to advance and move forward."

Grech is now serving as Deputy Speaker and as the PN's spokesperson for EU funds, social dialogue and consumer protection.

He described the Deputy Speaker position as "a very interesting role", explaining that when he occupies the Speaker's chair in Parliament, he acts as Speaker of the House.

Grech said his social dialogue portfolio also allows him to remain in contact with constituted bodies, NGOs, companies and other entities, and described dialogue as one of his strengths.