Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539053
2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWS Borg and Delia promise unity regardless of PN leadership election result Among the most eye-catching proposals from Adrian Delia was the idea to turn the PN's HQ into a digital hub with the help of AI, while Borg spoke of the use of crowdfunding to financially prepare the party for the next general election PN leadership hopefuls Adri- an Delia and Alex Borg made it clear to party members that whoever is elected leader, the PN will head to the next general election as a united front. In their final debate before Sat- urday's leadership election, Alex Borg and Adrian Delia set out their views for the PN. Among the most eye-catching proposals from Delia was the idea to turn the PN's HQ into a digital hub with the help of AI in an attempt to present the party's solutions for different problems to the right target audiences. Meanwhile, Borg spoke of the use of crowdfunding to finan- cially prepare the party for the next general election. While their previous debate on Net TV featured a minor tussle between the candidates, the last debate before the election saw the potential leaders presenting a united front. When asked about his ap- proach to beating Robert Abela in the next election, Delia said that the perseverance he had in the fight to annul the fraudulent Vitals concession shows that he has the right tools to win. Meanwhile, Borg pointed to MaltaToday's latest survey to say that he is in a better posi- tion to convince middle-of-the- road voters than Delia. Borg also highlighted his proposals for the country that were published on MaltaToday last Sunday. On the PN's financial woes, both candidates assured party members that they would get the maximum returns from the party's assets. Delia said that he plans to strengthen the PN's in- come streams to reduce the par- ty's debt. Borg explained that he would make sure that any PN band clubs which are closed would be re-opened, and those properties which are being rented would be rented according to their mar- ket value. On a more general note, Borg pledged generational renewal, promising to change the party's rhetoric, and create a podcast to strengthen PN's media pres- ence. He also outlined plans for a youth think tank, a Gozo-fo- cused policy team, and weekly visits to towns to bring the party closer to communities. Meanwhile, Delia pledged to deploy a youth-led mobile unit to engage younger voters. He also admitted to mistakes he made during his first term as PN leader, claiming that his po- litical inexperience led to such mistakes. As the debate concluded, Borg framed the election as a choice between moving forward or turning back, while Delia urged members to trust his resilience and experience. MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Left to right: Adrian Delia and Alex Borg (Photo: PN) Report flags unimplemented recommendations from Daphne Caruana Galizia Inquiry A report by the Office for Dem- ocratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) found that comprehensive legislative re- forms following the inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia are still not implement- ed. The report also highlights that journalists in Malta are the sub- ject of "disparaging rhetoric and smearing remarks" by politi- cians. The ODIHR, which falls under the OSCE, summarised find- ings from a March 2023 visit to Malta, examining the situation of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) against international human rights standards. According to the report, the work of HRDs, including jour- nalists, was often negatively por- trayed or dismissed. The report noted instances where HRDs working on good governance and anti-corruption, with refu- gees and migrants, on the envi- ronment, and on sexual, health, and reproductive rights, as well as investigative journalists, were particularly targeted by such dis- paraging discourse. HRDs working with and be- longing to the LGBTI commu- nity, however, appeared to enjoy support from the authorities. The ODIHR expressed con- cern that various HRDs reported being targets of verbal attacks, threats, and intimidation, with female HRDs reportedly par- ticularly exposed to sexist hate speech and online harassment. The report stated that some HRDs feared voicing their opin- ion in public or participating in public activities due to fear of retaliation.The report also not- ed that some HRDs felt online threats might not have been tak- en seriously enough by authori- ties. The report indicated that spurious lawsuits, typically in the form of defamation and li- bel suits, reportedly continued against journalists, seemingly aimed at exhausting them finan- cially and morally to silence or discourage their work. Regarding access to informa- tion of public interest, the report notes dissatisfaction with the lack of proactive information provision by government au- thorities. HRDs reported facing long and costly legal paths to obtain information denied to them. The whistleblower protection framework was also reported to remain largely underused, with fear of retaliation cited as a rea- son for people being unwilling to report corruption and seek pro- tection. The ODIHR noted that au- thorities had taken some steps towards accountability and im- proving the protection of HRDs, including journalists. These included investigations and prosecutions of individual cases and the introduction of new police risk assessment pro- tocols. However, the report ex- pressed concern about a lack of consultation with HRDs in de- veloping new protection struc- tures.