Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1276949
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 AUGUST 2020 NEWS THE impression given to the PN's councillors before last week's vote in which they chose whether mem- bers would vote in an open leader- ship race or just a confidence vote for Adrian Delia, was that they be spoilt for choice between candi- dates reflecting the different nuanc- es of the PN's rainbow coalition. It seemed like an opportunity for the PN to display its colours in a debate between political adults discussing a way forward for a party, which is still rediscovering what it stands for. And yet… A race to inspire A race between candidates like Roberta Metsola, Therese Comod- ini Cachia, Mark Anthony Sammut, Alex Perici Calascione and Adrian Delia was in itself an enticing pros- pect that could have generated en- thusiasm not just within the party, but also in the nation. It would have sent a message to Malta that the opposition is alive and brimming with ideas at a time when the gov- ernment is showing the first signs of fatigue under the weight of Robert Abela's poor judgement on COV- ID-19 transmission. It could have given the opportuni- ty of seeing lesser-known candidates prove their acumen in an open race, gaining name recognition and pos- sibly defying predictions and polls. It also ensured female candidates would have at least had a chance. Limiting the choice to two men as was Labour's race in January, is a lost opportunity for gender equality. Operation wet blanket To win the first round against De- lia, the rebels conjured a scenario to give party councillors the impres- sion that they would be choosing the two candidates facing each oth- er in the final run-off. But with 44% of councillors sup- porting Delia's one-horse race pro- posal it clearly emerged that the embattled PN leader would surely make it to the second round, while a crowded and fragmented field of rebels would end up jostling for sec- ond place. The risk was not just that Delia would emerge from the first round as the frontrunner – a ma- jor psychological boost – but also that the candidate coming in sec- ond place would not be the one with the best chance of beating Delia. In such a crowded field the risk was that a candidate surpassing another by a couple of votes could well have made it to the second round. Moreover, an open debate between candidates opposing Delia on the party's vision may have been seen as premature in a party already riven by divisions. It could well have ex- posed more rifts, perpetuating the perception that the PN is a divided party. So the rebels have deduced a logi- cal conclusion: that in order to beat Delia they had to choose which can- didate had the best chance of beating Delia. Instead of leav- ing this to the whims of par- ty councillors, they relied on internal polls showing which candidate stood the best chance of beating Delia. Curiously, that also meant opting for an outsider, who like Delia will take on the party leadership without having previous- The rebels are pitting their own 'outsider' to oust Adrian Delia with a taste of his own medicine. But isn't this shrewd chess move a betrayal an earlier promise to spoil councillors with the choice of the horse that would race Delia, JAMES DEBONO asks? PN rebels' chessboard move for PN leadership Councillors who have been deprived of having a say in shortlisting the candidates may feel tricked about being given the impression of voting in an open race From Delia darling to Delia rival: Bernard Grech