Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1270964
5 tained a meeting with Yorgen Fenech after it was revealed that he was the owner of 17 Black. Even Keith Schembri managed to deflect attention from his own relationship with Fenech, by putting the spotlight on Delia allegedly receiving funds from Fenech in a bid to stop MEP candidate David Casa from being elected, while taking the witness stand in the case against Fenech. And while Delia strong- ly denies this allegation, his name crops up as a convenient punching bag whenever La- bour is in difficulty, with Delia taking flak from his own. Sure- ly enough, even Simon Busut- til was constantly thwarted by dubious business connections and his own front-benchers' pecuniary interests. But Busut- til's own integrity remained un- scathed to the end, command- ing enough moral authority to chide Gozitan district heavy- weight Giovanna Debono. One major problem for Delia is that Abela himself raised the bar in his own party by dismissing Cardona and Mizzi in the ab- sence of judicial proof of their wrongdoing. Did Abela raise it too high for Delia, himself un- der investigation and whose justification for not resigning is uncannily similar to that given by Konrad Mizzi? Delia and Labour share a com- mon enemy: the intransigent and entitled old PN Ideologically, the socially con- servative Delia is even more dis- tant from the PL than many of his internal critics, something amply clear in his stance against the IVF leave ordnance or his vote on a domestic violence bill, justified by invoking the abor- tion card. In both cases some rebel PN MPs found themselves voting with Labour. But Labour's antipathy to- wards former leader Simon Busuttil plays a part in the preference for Delia, who un- successfully tried to expel his predecessor when the Egrant inquiry was published. While refraining from constantly raising the stakes as Busuttil was prone to doing, Delia's ap- proach on corruption may have been effective, but he was una- ble to secure a united stance. When he followed Labour's narrative by positioning him- self against the PN's establish- ment, he failed to recognise that – although entitlement by dominant elites invigorated the intransigence against Labour after 2013 – civil society oppo- sition to Labour's antics in pow- er were vital in regenerating the opposition. In this way Delia failed to transcend the rift and bridge the PN's working and middle classes, liberals and con- servatives. It would have been Labour's worst nightmare. By hitting hard on his own party's 'elitism', Delia further confirmed Labour's narrative. But adding credibility to that narrative are vocal exponents of the anti-Delia camp, illustrated only recently by lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona's depiction of Delia supporters as "third-tier Nationalists". The viral Face- book post was exploited by both Labour and Delia supporters in their war against the PN's es- tablishment. Delia could be punished by PN abstainers, and still his an- ti-elite shtick has no traction amongst the Labour working class Polls show a segment of PN voters will abstain in the next general election. Labour retains 94% of its 2017 voters, the PN just 57%, with 15% saying they won't vote, and 23% undecid- ed. Confirming Delia's lack of appeal among middle-class voters, 44% of university-edu- cate voters say they won't vote or are undecided, compared to 26% with post-sec and 16% with just secondary levels of education. But apart from losing these voters, Delia made no inroads amongst working-class voters, particularly those in the south of Malta. In the southeast, the PN's support is an abysmal 12% compared to Labour's 73%, risking the PN's wipe-out, torn as it is between abstention in its northern strongholds and Labour's southern comfort. And that's why Delia is no threat to Labour: his war against the PN establishment reminds Labour voters of the PN's endemic class prejudice should they be returned to power. None of these voters will bother voting for Delia in any case. Delia's forced resignation could see some of his support move to Labour It remains hard to predict the behaviour of Delia's grassroots supporters should he resign. Resentment at the coup engi- neered by the PN's establish- ment could see them seduced by Labour. On the face of it, Delia's appeal appears strong with party tribalists whose identity is shaped by antago- nism towards Labour, and it is difficult to imagine that this co- hort could ever consider voting Labour. If anything, loyalists of the deposed leader might ab- stain, presenting the PN with another Catch-22: abstention of middle-class voters with De- lia at the helm, or disenchanted working and lower-middle vot- ers with Delia out. Either way, the prolonged civil war while Delia stays on will lose the PN more support among middle- of-the-road voters alienated by the media spectacle. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JULY 2020 NEWS NOTIFICATION TO UNKNOWN LANDOWNERS IN TERMS OF ART 4(2) OF L.N. 71/07 AS AMENDED BY L.N. 73/15 With the red-carpet treatment he got on Brian Hansford's Realtà on TVM – which is directed at a Labour audience – Delia gets no traction and only sympathy from those who would never dream of voting Nationalist Delia is no threat to Labour: his war against the PN establishment reminds Labour voters of the PN's endemic class prejudice should they be returned to power. None of these voters will bother voting for Delia in any case 4 5 6