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7 maltatoday | MONDAY • 1 JUNE 2026 ANALYSIS ELECTION 2026 super-majority, the comfortable one and Alex Borg? James Debono tries to find out SHORT of a near impossible victory the best result for Alex Borg would have been retain- ing, or further closing, the 9,000-vote gap between the PL and PN in the 2024 MEP elections. His worst night- mare would have been losing by more than 30,000 votes, a result which would have made him resign or face the prospect of remaining a lame duck, the same as Bernard Grech before him. For Borg, the result comes somewhere in between total defeat and a near miss, leav- ing his leadership intact and many in his party hopeful but not necessarily one which will surely win the next election. What does this mean for Alex Borg's prospects? 1. A loss is always a loss Alex Borg had made it clear that his aim was winning the election, not simply reduc- ing the gap. Borg managed to convince some of his support- ers that this was possible and even likely. Surely, Borg is no imbecile. He knew that a victory was very unlikely but he also knew that to reduce the gap one has to sound and be seen as a winner. By the end of the campaign the message had filtered down to the grassroots. Some pundits on social media even doubt- ed surveys indicating a clear Labour victory. Some of these may now be disappointed and add Borg to the list of PN lead- ers who failed to make it. But for many others Borg will re- main the only plausible leader and one who has come a long way in restoring his party's for- tunes. He had only seven months to prove himself as a prime min- ister in waiting. In this short space of time, he managed to energise his base and appar- ently attract a small shift from Labour. Still, he can't hide the fact that the party has lost by a greater margin than in the MEP election, where it lost by a 9,000-vote margin. While the comparison can't be over- looked, it is worth remember- ing that MEP elections are a different kettle of fish, consid- ering that in these elections voters are not choosing who will govern them but five MEPs to represent them in Brussels. 2. Borg starts from a substantial deficit Unlike Joseph Muscat after his party's 2008 defeat, Borg starts with two disadvantages. His party still lost by 22,000 votes and not by a mere 1,500 votes. Moreover, like Simon Busuttil and Bernard Grech before him, he has still lent his face to defeat. But he can also take credit for one of the larg- est shifts in electoral history. In reality, had this shift occurred in any election before 2013, when majorities were under the 13,000-mark, Borg would have become prime minister. 3. The impact on his leadership By halving the gap, Alex Borg's position in the party is now solid and is unlikely to be challenged. He has also en- ergised the base. His position would have been far stronger had he lost by less than 10,000 votes, but with the PN lacking any plausible alternative to its new young leader, it is likely to remain stable. He now has plenty of time to reorganise his party, shape its identity, and create a government in waiting. In reality, the greatest problem the PN had in this election was the weakness of the front bench. 4. Borg's limited talent pool The election will not nec- essarily address this problem since those elected still hail from a restricted pool of talent. But rising on the crest of the party's best result since 2008, Borg may find more capable people willing to jump on his cart. Moreover, as a plausible prime minister in 2031, Borg may also attract more money for his party. Obviously, this comes with new problems, as the party will become more of an option for unprincipled ca- reerists and shady money from businesses investing in a sort of protection racket. Borg's fibre will be tested by his ability to keep momentum without com- promising integrity. Alex Borg Photos: Daniel Tihn/MaltaToday