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4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 JUNE 2019 KURT SANSONE ADRIAN Delia believes the Nationalist Party may not be "humble enough" to admit the Labour Party could be winning on its own merits In a candid admission on TimesTalk, the PN leader said that despite a damning Coun- cil of Europe report that made scathing remarks about the Prime Minister, people still voted for the PL. "It could be Labour is win- ning, not the PN is losing, and we may not be humble enough to accept this… this is Labour's time and it could be he [Joseph Muscat] is winning on his mer- its," Delia said. A draft copy of the Council of Europe report was strategi- cally leaked in the last week of the electoral campaign, blam- ing Joseph Muscat for protect- ing Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. The PL went on to win the Eu- ropean election with four seats against two and a 42,000-vote margin. It also thrashed the PN in local elections with a 47,000-vote margin. Delia's underlying message hits out at the prevalent feel- ing among some PN exponents that the party has been cheated from governing the country by the PL. It was the second time in a week that Delia called out the mentality within some PN cir- cles that the party has some divine right to be in govern- ment. On TVM's Dissett last week, Delia said the PN must not be arrogant: "We must respect people and make it our duty to win their respect, we do not have a God-given right to gov- ern." Delia reiterated yesterday that he saw no reason why he should ask for a vote of con- fidence, insisting he will take the PN to the next general election. "We have no time to waste let alone hold a leader- ship contest that will select someone who will have to start again," Delia said. He then appealed for cohe- sion within the party, pledging to do his part by opening up to those who have not accepted him as leader. "I am profoundly trying to work with the MPs I found and most are working but… it takes two to tango," Delia said, add- ing that some preferred to the party to stay where it was. Delia did not hide his frustra- tion at the internal situation: "Unless we toe the same line in the same direction, we will not see progress." He called on MPs to contrib- ute more to the party by way of policy making rather than going on social media to stoke criticism. "We must make a genuine ef- fort to fight one general elec- tion together," he appealed. 'We may not be humble enough to admit Labour could be winning on its own merits' Adrian Delia makes honesty his mark by telling Nationalists that Labour's triumphs are down to its own successes YANNICK PACE JEAN Pierre Debono, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia's chief political ad- visor, has pushed back against claims that he is being paid an excessively high salary by the party, as he continues to face calls for his resignation. Debono was rumoured to earn up- wards of €40,000, a figure he has now said is nowhere near his actual salary. "Let one thing be clear, so that no- body thinks I have anything to hide. My salary from the PN every month is as is indicated below," Debono said in a Facebook post uploaded on Tues- day. "If one does some calculations they would realise that in one marathon that was held a few months ago, my wife [MP Kristy Debono] and I to- gether collected for the PN almost as much as I make in the whole year. Considerably less than the €50,000, €70,000 or €100,000 that some indi- viduals are citing." Debono said that he also dedicated a considerable amount of time with- out limit or condition. He added that there were others in the party that like him, worked many hours for a similar salary. The latest controversy erupted in the aftermath of a vote in the PN's executive committee last Saturday, which chose Debono to replace Gozo MP David Stellini in parliament. But Debono was yesterday forced to state that he would not be taking up the seat after it transpired that at least two people who voted on Saturday were not eligible to do so. Debono, who was elected to parlia- ment in 2017, but who subsequently resigned his seat to make way for par- ty leader Adrian Delia, beat Gozitan local councillor Kevin Cutajar by 42 votes to 40. In a letter to Delia yesterday, Debono said he had decided not to take up his seat in parliament because it was clear that "the same group of people" that had refused to accept Delia's election were now engaged in a ruthless campaign to attack and dis- credit him personally. Debono dispels claims of exorbitant PN salary, says he raised same amount in donations Jean Pierre Debono (left) has said that he earns €2,238 a month from the Nationalist Party

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