Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1276949
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 AUGUST 2020 INTERVIEW Along with Bernard Grech, Roberta Metsola, Therese Com- modini Cachia and others, your name has often cropped up as a potential contender for the forthcoming PN leadership election. Just this morning, you announced that you will not be contesting. What led to this decision? Was there any pres- sure on you to withdraw, in the interest of agreeing on a single candidate to replace Adrian De- lia? First of all, my interest started with people mentioning me in surveys and polls. Councillors and party members spoke to me; there were even some MPs who encouraged me. And I believed that I could contribute, in some way, to send the message that the PN is in the process of regen- erating itself; and that it could still attract some of the voters of my generation that it once had, but lost along the way. So of course, I started consid- ering it. I discussed it with peo- ple around me; starting with my family, the people who would be most impacted by such a big decision. But also with other people who were being consid- ered as possible contenders. Be- cause after all, this is not just a question of who is going to be party leader. It's also a question of what vision do we believe the party needs to have: not just for the sake of replacing Adrian De- lia; but also for the sake of even- tually beating Robert Abela. And I have to say that, in these discussions, I discovered that all the other contenders are people who really have the party's best interests at heart. They believe, like I do, that politics is a service. It's not just a question of person- al ambitions. So I'm really glad to have been able to discuss my vision for the party, and listen to theirs. As for my decision not to take this step, however: no, there was no kind of pressure on me not to submit my candidature. I can assure you it was a decision I took myself, on the basis of my own analysis of the situation. In these discussions you men- tion, was there any form of negotiation regarding future positions within the party: for instance, who would get to be part of the shadow cabinet, in the event that Bernard Grech wins? No, we didn't go into that level. And in any case, those are inter- nal decisions to be taken by the Party itself: it doesn't depend en- tirely on the identity of the new party leader. What I can say is that when I saw – just a few minutes before this interview – that Bernard Grech decided to submit his nomination, I wholeheartedly supported his decision, and I will be giving him my full support. I believe that, in the circumstanc- es, he could be a figure that man- ages to reunite the various dif- ferent types of voters that make up the Nationalist Party. But my support is uncondi- tional: in the sense that I don't expect anything in return. You say that Bernard Grech might succeed in reuniting the party; but given the enormity of the chasm that has opened up between the opposing fac- tions… is that even still possi- ble: not just for Bernard Grech himself, but for anyone at all? It's going to be a challenge, certainly. And not an easy one, either. At this point, I would have expected Adrian Delia to realise that, after losing the confidence of two-thirds of his parliamentary group, as well as 60% of his executive committee – which, a year and a half ago, returned a unanimous vote of confidence in him – and now, having also lost the support of the General Council… under the circumstances, he should realise that, even if he wins, he is going to have a much bigger challenge to lead the Party than anyone who might replace him. So for the sake of the Party, I believe Adrian Delia should have taken the responsible de- cision to not contest. He has the right to contest, naturally; but politically, I do not think it is in the best inter- ests of the party. Having said this, I still think that Adrian De- lia has a place in the Nationalist Party… The internecine war within the Nationalist Party is now reaching its endgame: former executive president MARK ANTHONY SAMMUT argues that the time has now come to either change, or perish in the attempt We must change, or die Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt