Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539305
2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWS Alex Borg: No radical changes, but shadow cabinet reshuffle will be carried out soon NEW Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg is expected to reshuffle his shadow cabinet soon but has promised no radical changes. "The fact that the general elec- tion is on the doorstep means we cannot wait a lot for a reshuffle. I won't be making radical changes, but rather introduce key sectors like artificial intelligence which need attention," Borg said in his first interview on TVM after his election as leader. Borg was interviewed on Xtra by Karl Azzopardi on Monday evening. On Saturday, Borg won the PN's leadership race by the narrowest of margins against Adrian Delia. With an official result issued in the early hours of Sunday morn- ing, Borg defended the timing, saying it is normal that with such tight margins, the electoral com- mission would need to ensure everything is correct and every vote is counted. "When you have two candi- dates split by 44 votes, you have to make sure everything is being done properly," he said. On criticism by the Labour Par- ty that such a close result is sym- bolic of a split within the party, he said that it only showed that party members saw potential in both of the candidates. "At the end of the day, someone has to win," he said. "Going for- ward everyone is onboard." He also said that he wants to carry out an outreach exercise so members who voted for Adri- an Delia and are not comfortable with him, can have their say. "I want a united party, and that is the start to have a winning party. That is why Labour from the get- go is trying to sow doubt." "A united PN is Labour's biggest fear," he said. Borg vowed to publish how he financed his leadership campaign, saying this will show the transpar- ency in how he campaigned. Borg's Nationalist Party Questioned on what has been a headache for Nationalist leaders of the past decade--the party's finances--Borg said accounts will be published soon. "To govern you need to have your house in order first, and that is why I am also promising to publish the party's accounts," he said. "Even from the Opposition, we need to show transparency." The accounts, he pledged, would be published before the general election. The new PN leader said the new financial technical committee he is set to appoint will see the in- volvement of people from both outside and inside party struc- tures, with many already confirm- ing their involvement. Alex Borg also spoke about the new roles he is set to intro- duce--CEO and deputy leader for parliamentary affairs. These roles he said would make the party work more efficient- ly, while also help in address- ing recurring issues which have cropped up over the years. He stopped short of identifying the individuals he would like to see in these roles, saying the party stat- ute had to be amended first. He also played down concerns that the CEO role, which he says would be more focused on financ- es and commercialisation, would clash with the secretary general role, which he said would be fo- cused on the political aspect. With Borg having to deal with the unprecedented situation of having two former leaders in his shadow cabinet, he insisted he wants the active participation of both. "I don't want to look at the per- sons' defects, I want to see their qualities and strengths," he said. On European Parliament Pres- ident and Nationalist MEP Rob- erta Metsola, who overshadowed Bernard Grech's tenure as leader, Borg said she plays an important role, "but in Malta there is one leader." He played down concerns on factions inside the party, saying it is normal to have different opin- ions. "Going forward we need to keep the interests of the country and Malta as our central goal." Civil rights and the construction lobby The new Nationalist leader said should he become prime minis- ter, there will be no rolling back of civil rights introduced by Labour administrations over the past 12 years, such as marriage equality and cannabis regularisation. "As a party we have our values and we have our principles, but that does not mean that if good measures were introduced by La- bour, we will destroy everything," he said. But when questioned on his vote against embryo genetic testing, he said at the time he felt some of the proposed measures "go against life", but stated that now that it has become law, he will not re- verse it. On euthanasia, while warning government does not have the mandate to table a bill, he said Opposition MPs would be given a free-vote, but he would vote against. Alex Borg played down crit- icism that he is a construction lobby darling, saying that while he wants to hear out the opinions of everyone, he is not in anyone's pocket. "I want to ensure that every de- cision taken is made in everyone's interest, in the country's interest, and not a select few," he said. "That is what Labour is now." KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Karl Azzopardi interviews Alex Borg (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)