Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia will deliver a “positive speech” in Parliament tonight, a sign of how he intends to mark his tenure, according to party insiders.

Sources close to the PN told the Times of Malta that Dr Delia spent the last week engaging with unions, NGOs and stakeholders as he forged his reply to the Budget 2018 speech.

He is expected to unveil the proposal for a project which the Opposition will help the government realise, thereby attracting millions in investment and creating new jobs.

Party insiders said the new leader wanted to detach from the style of his predecessors. The positive speech, they said, was meant to strike a chord with Labour leaning voters in a bid to reach out to a wider audience rather than only with the PN hardcore supporters.

The sources said the speech was co-written with Mario de Marco with sources saying the two developed “a strong bond” since the leadership race.

“Dr Delia is steadfast in making a mark in his first Parliament speech by proposing a new economic sector which he will say the Nationalist Party is ready to help the government in realising,” the sources said.