Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1268420
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JULY 2020 OPINION gives him the right to remove the Lead- er of the Opposition if he no longer has the support of the majority of his MPs. Meanwhile, no matter what happens, it cannot be any more obvious that the PN as we know it will soon cease to ex- ist. Neither of the two factions will ev- er bow down to the other, and all one needs to confirm this is to read what is being said online. If even that does not convince you that there is an ideolog- ical rift within the Nationalist party, then the viral videos of rough-around- the-edges Delia supporters screeching obscenities outside of the Stamperi- ja should be an eye-opener, as should the comments underneath the videos. The PN has a profound identity crisis and neither Delia nor Comodini Cachia have it in them to be the unifying figures which can patch up what has turned out to be one hot mess. The old stalwarts of the party, who still reminisce about the glory days of religio et patria will nev- er accept Delia. Those who saw in the more down-to-earth Delia a chance to break away from the elitism label which has branded the PN for so long, take one look at Comodini Cachia and shudder. I find it surprising that, when it came to the crunch, the rebel backbenchers were unable to come up with someone who could have bridged the gap be- tween the two sides. It is also unfath- omable to me how those who have been so dogged in their persistence to see the back of Delia have not yet grasped that one of the most important ingredients in any new leader is one simple word: charisma. Delia's pugnacious style may be off-putting to some, but he obviously appeals to a certain type of PN support- er who have had enough of insipid lead- ers. Whereas if I had to listen to more than five minutes of Comodini Cachia's whining voice I might fall into a coma out of which I might never emerge. I have seen a number of posts praising her intelligence, her capabilities and the fact that she has no 'baggage' (although no one has forgotten how she tried to hot-foot it back to Brussels after the PN lost, even though she had won a Parlia- mentary seat). And, of course, there is also the rather inevitable, misguided, delight because she is a woman, which is frankly neither here nor there. In fact, she immediately put her foot in it by coming out with a rather brusque sta- tus on Facebook, "I'm not in favour of abortion! Is that clear enough?" which only succeeded in ruffling everyone's feathers because of the arrogant tone that brooked no further discussion. On the other hand, the PN has always been conservative so her stand was not sur- prising to me (so maybe those who are pro-choice should reconsider whether they are in the right party?) Most of what I have read sounded like a forced attempt to sell her to us as the right choice. But spin cannot compen- sate for something which is not there, which is that integral 'something' which one either has or does not have. PN supporters who are fed up of Delia and his dubious past (and present) might settle for Comodini Cachia as an inter- im leader but I am curious as to what that is going to solve exactly. She will definitely not win over the Delia crowd (they have made that perfectly clear) and I doubt that those who have been let down by the Labour Party will be ex- actly revved up to vote for her either. The conundrum for Delia, of course, is that he can no longer ignore the MPs who have made it openly clear that they do not want to work with him. Thou- sands of PN supporters who agree with the rebel MPs have shown, poll after abysmal poll, that they will not vote as long as Delia is at the helm. A leader who is seen as such a divisive figure is not only unelectable but a hindrance to the very party he claims to represent. If it were me, I could not imagine hanging on when I am simply not want- ed, but Delia refuses to budge (and even this in itself has been described as sus- picious and all sorts of rumours of a pact continue to swirl). His argument is that he cannot be removed from party leader (and ergo Opposition leader) be- cause he was voted in democratically by party members according to the statute, and on the contrary, it is the rebel MPs who should leave the party. Legal ex- perts have pointed out that, technically, he can remain party leader and Comod- ini Cachia can be appointed Opposition Leader, although how that will work in practice is a mystery to me. If Delia gets his way and the MPs who voted against him are kicked out of the party, they will be free to form their own party, which is what should have happened from the get go three years ago. However, he will still be facing the same dilemma of not only trying to lure back those who have turned their backs on the PN, but more crucially, of pre- senting to the voting public a well-de- fined party identity with concrete pro- posals of how to solve the country's problems. The Labour government needs to be held accountable, now more than ever, and that cannot happen as long as the Opposition remains in perpetual disar- ray. Delia's pugnacious style may be off-putting to some, but he obviously appeals to a certain type of PN supporter who have had enough of inspid leaders