PN MPs who challenged Delia's decision 'never intended to depose him as leader'

Most of the Nationalist MPs who challenged Adrian Delia's decision to ask Simon Busuttil to suspend himself never intended to depose Delia as PN leader, the Malta Independent has learnt.

Some MPs who rejected Delia's plans to cast Busuttil aside told this newsroom that very few members of that group wanted Busuttil back as leader of the party. "It would be insane to think that we want Busuttil back as leader, however we did not agree with the way Delia dealt with the issue."

Ten days ago the Attonery General issued part of the inquiry report which showed that no evidence had been found to support the claim that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife owned the Panama company called Egrant. A few hours later, during a PN press conference, Delia announcd that he had stripped Busuttil of his Good Governance portfolio and invited him to suspend himself from the Parliamentary Group. From this point onwards, all hell broke loose in the PN and a number of PN MPs publicly disagreed with Delia's decision and launched a campaign on the social media with the hashtag #notinmyname.

Some of these MPs, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this newsroom that there was never the intention to present a motion of no confidence in Delia as Opposition Leader. "Our intention was that of disapproval and not to outset Delia as Opposition Leader."

A series of meetings between the two warring factions, mediated by former PM Lawrence Gonzi, former Deputy PM Tonio Borg together with MEP Francis Zammit Dimech took place over the past few days for a solution to the reached.

Last Monday, in a statement sent by the party, Delia declared that there was no intention to initiate any internal procedure against Busuttil in the wake of the publication of the Egrant inquiry conclusions, adding that this would be confirmed by the party's Administrative Council.

In the statement, Delia reminded that there are a number of ongoing magisterial inquiries that raised serious doubts about the behavior of senior government officials, including Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri. "The fight against corruption and bad governance will not only continue but it will be stepped up," the party said. "It is important that everyone in the party continues with this fight so that the truth will come out," the PN said, hinting that Busuttil would stay on. No mention was made of Delia's invitation for Busuttil to suspend himself.

In a separate statement, Busuttil said he welcomed Delia's declaration. He also noted that there were ongoing inquiries involving people close to the Prime Minister. "I believe that the Opposition should be united against our only political adversary – the present government," Busuttil said.

Delia and Busuttil have so far not met face to face, however this newspaper revealed yesterday that the two are expected to meet in the coming days to find a way forward in their strained relationship.

 

 

from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2O3u8bo
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