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10 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 AUGUST 2017 News PN leadership Adrian Delia: The upstart STRENGTH HE can sell himself as a self-made business- man who does not belong to the political caste or dynasty. He clearly has charisma, the gift of the gab and a popular touch even if he failed to impress in the first televised debate between the four candidates on Thursday. If Simon Busuttil's main problem was one of communication, Delia may be the best answer for the PN among the four stand- ing. His experience in the world of football as president of Birkirkara FC – reminiscent of Silvio Berlusconi's role in AC Milan prior to his entry in politics – increases his street- wise appeal among a category which never warmed up to Busuttil. Like any good businessman Delia seems to have the appetite to win and succeed. Hav- ing never served in a past Nationalist cabinet or official post creates a buffer between him and the misdeeds of past PN legislatures. In this sense he is in synch with a global mood, which catapulted personalities with no roots in established parties ranging from Emanuel Macron in France to Donald Trump in the USA. WEAKNESS He lacks political experience and may find it difficult to work collegially in a diverse party. For while a top down approach may make sense in the business and football worlds, politics is by its nature an art of compromise. Moreover the mix between politics, football, legal services and business on its own opens him to scrutiny from dif- ferent fronts. And while Delia stands out as a good com- municator in one to one interviews and may sway voters in one to one meetings, he seems to lack the same sparkle in debates. If he failed to impress in a debate with the other three PN candidates whose perfor- mance was uninspiring, it is far from certain whether he can ever outperform Muscat. Delia only sparkle was when he pounced on Said's reference to party strategy being set by thinkers "in the backroom" insisting that the thinkers should be out in the open. Yet this remark itself is also revealing on Delia's mind-frame which ignores the reality that any party leader needs thinkers who can provide him with valuable insights without being exposed to the political circus. Neither is it clear what he stands for. His way of dealing with inevitable media criti- cism and scrutiny has exposed a weakness: that of dismissing pertinent questions on his business interests as some sort of personal attack. It is only now-after weeks of questions- that he announced that he intends publishing his financial interests. Had Delia immediately opted for full transparency by publishing his financial interests he may well have had an easier ride. Instead of setting the agenda by publishing his interests, he has let the media to set the agenda for him. Surely once he has hinted at divesting of his business interests it is not clear how one can divest oneself of debts. Moreover while being quick in filing li- bels against Caruana Galizia he has so far not clarified his involvement in an offshore company in Jersey which emerges from doc- uments published on her website. Delia may argue that past leadership con- tenders were never asked to declare their assets and financial interests but this flies in the face that his own party had raised the bar during the past years by campaign- ing on honesty and that as a businessmen with interests in a construction firm he has to expect additional scrutiny. By presenting himself as the next leader of a party which for the past two years had called for the res- ignation of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schem- bri for owning secret companies, Delia has inevitable exposed himself to scrutiny over any dealing involving offshore structures. Moreover his appeal as someone uncon- nected to the PN's past is somewhat dented by his having been on the receiving end of government contracts when the PN was in government. The PN risks getting a Berlusconi who spends most of his time fending off attacks. The fact that he is already a target of Daphne Caruana Galizia may further distance him from the party's recent past but it still leaves him exposed on different fronts. For Delia has found himself being simultaneously crit- icised by both Franco Debono and Caruana Galizia while finding the support of Robert Musumeci. Surely while his party may bene- fit by not letting any journalist or media out- let set its agenda, the criticism by a blogger it can't afford to be led by a leader exposed to criticism by a blogger which was deemed credible by the PN till a few months ago, to the point of organising a national protest af- ter Chris Cardona slapped her with a crimi- nal libel and a precautionary warrant after reporting his presence in German brothel . FEAR FACTOR Adrian Delia is the most unpredictable of the contenders and perhaps the one who may be the easiest but also the hardest for Labour to demolish. He may even have the spontaneity, which Busuttil lacked, in his di- rect exchanges with Muscat. His unpredict- ability and flexibility may make him a harder nut to crack for Labour strategists. Yet if Muscat sticks to his word and vacates his post before the next election, Delia may well end up facing a new Labour leader chosen in full knowledge of his weaknesses. As an upstart Delia also gets more attention than traditional politicians. His own life narra- tive – a businessman with five children and a colourful wife – makes him interesting. In an increasingly presidential system, this sort of interest can work as an advantage even if it may make a category of discerning vot- ers cringe. When faced with questions on controversial issues like IVF and euthanasia, Delia has tried to find a balance between conservatism and liberalism by showing em- pathy to real life situations. But how far can he carry on talking his way out when tested by Muscat's concrete legislative proposals? His business interests pose a problem. But with recent experience with Labour charac- ters like Konrad Mizzi, the electorate may be quite forgiving when it comes to offshore investments, let alone financial peccadilloes. Having strongly denied ever owning any offshore company Delia's position became even more complicated following claims by Caruana Galizia that around £1 million in money from London prostitution was processed through Adrian Delia's Barclays International account in Jersey. Delia has denied holding monies offshore – belonging to him personally but has not ruled handling client's accounts. Like Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri he immediately reacted to Caruana Galizia's claims by filing libels. One major advantage for Labour is that his exposure to possible criticism on business affairs may make him more reluctant to hold Labour officials to account. If elected Delia may constantly have to watch his back be- fore confronting Labour on any case of im- propriety. Labour had already hit out at PN leaning lawyers acting as intermediaries in the financial services industry to deflect the damage done by Panamagate. What a better target for Labour than the opposition leader himself to deflect further attacks from the opposition on this front? The major benefit for Labour would be an opposition leader who may be reluctant to seek confrontation on its record on good governance simply to avoid having the spot light on his own affairs. This may well lead to an undeclared truce – something which would give Labour respite on the front. But with a growing economy, corruption may well remain high on the country's agen- da, especially among those in civil society who are still outraged by institutional inertia over Panama. Delia has already hinted that he intends to tackle this issue in a different way, but has not shown how. Delia may well end up having to face the inevitable: that of facing Labour head on in this issue. But to do so he needs to be immune to the inevita- ble counter attacks. Who will take the Opposition forward? JAMES DEBONO outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the PN's four leadership candidates as voting time approaches for the PN's General Council