Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1273535
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JULY 2020 NEWS ANALYSIS Decision-time inside the PN: The five main takeaways from the PN's do-or-die On Saturday, Nationalist councillors decide whether members should have a say on Adrian Delia staying, or kick-start a full blown leadership race… why do rebels need a crowded field to force Delia away from the party's helm? JAMES DEBONO In a choice between Delia or chaos, Delia wins In 2019 PN councillors were asked whether Adrian Delia should remain leader or not. A resounding 67% were in favour of Delia staying on as leader. But that result did not quell the insurgency among his MPs, yet it thought the rebels one major lesson: that the party will not dispose of Delia without a de- gree of certainty that someone better can replace him. This time around councillors will determine whether party members will have a choice be- tween Delia and an alternative candidate, or just a Delia confi- dence vote. The 2019 question to councillors had favoured De- lia, having basically been asked to choose between Delia and chaos. This time, the council- lors could unleash a contest to see Delia replaced by a number of credible alternatives. Not on- ly, in a leadership contest the councillors get to whittle the shortlist of candidates down to two, with members having the final say on them. The rebels' option still gives councillors a greater say than a confirmation vote, by certainly determining who the 'anti-Delia' candidate will be. Giving the final to members dispels the perception that re- bels are prejudiced against rank and file members, recognising that the democratic mandate Delia was given in 2017 can only be taken back to the very members who had elected him. However, Delia does have a point in ar- guing that the 2017 vote is valid till the next election and therefore he is al- ready conceding a lot by going for a confirmation vote. Yet with the par- ty at its lowest ebb in recent history, and Delia losing the trust of the majority of his own parliamen- tary group, the rebels' argument for a lead- ership contest among members may prove more seductive to councillors than a one-man race. Delia now has to race against many horses One major difference from last year's botched attempt to unseat Delia is that councillors won't be taking their decision in a scenar- io where nobody is ready to take on Delia. This time rebels have proposed a replacement by way of Ther- ese Comodini Cachia but oth- er names are believed to be getting ready for the race, namely Roberta Metso- la, Bernard Grech, Mark Anthony Sammut, Alex Perici Calascione and Comodini Cachia her- self, a move that ad- dresses the strategic weakness which crip- pled the re-