A week after it was revealed that the Opposition leader was part of a money-laundering investigation, none of the Nationalist Party’s internal structures have so far been convened to debate the matter.
“It seems that it is all business as usual. The least that would have been expected was for our leader Adrian Delia, who is also good governance spokesman, to lay everybody’s mind to rest and offer some kind of explanation,” a party source told The Sunday Times of Malta.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, PN insiders also expressed their disappointment that neither the parliamentary group nor the Administrative Council – which deals precisely with matters of a disciplinary nature – had been summoned for a discussion on the matter.
One source said: “With May’s European and local council elections looming, the party’s prospects of starting to regain lost ground following a series of heavy defeats looks gloomier than ever.”
Asked what action, if any, had been taken by the party, a PN spokesman gave no details, insisting only that these were “unfounded allegations” against Dr Delia.
At this stage there is no time to hold a leadership contest
Dating back to 2004, the case revolves around a Barclays International account in Jersey allegedly held in Dr Delia’s name, which was reportedly used to process the payment of rents for London properties used for prostitution. The allegations first surfaced during the PN leadership race in the summer of 2017 in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s blog, a few months before she was murdered.
While Dr Delia, a lawyer, has persistently denied any wrongdoing, last week The Sunday Times revealed the police had launched an investigation on the strength of a report handed to them by Malta’s anti-money laundering agency (FIAU). The PN spokesman accused this newspaper of publishing “Castille-generated spin intended to cover up government’s corruption”.
READ: Delia offers ‘hard evidence’ on London property claims
He said the ‘mysterious’ police sources quoted only served the purpose of neutralising the hard facts exposed about the relationship between 17 Black – owned by one of the power station shareholders – and the secret Panama accounts opened in the name of the then Energy Minister and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.
While refuting criticism that the party was adopting double standards on good governance, he pointed out that there would be no retreat from the PN’s fight against corruption.
It described the allegations made against Dr Delia as unfounded, of dubious nature and outright ridiculous.
Last Sunday Dr Delia had also challenged the Police Commissioner to question him on the matter.
Despite the denials, PN sources said the party had been rendered a “sitting duck” amid fears that more information could be published on the eve of the upcoming elections. However, PN insiders, even those who still harbour huge reservations about Dr Delia, do not subscribe to the view that he should resign or suspend himself.
“At this stage, there is no time to hold a leadership contest, due to the logistical nightmare of organising a ballot among some 20,000 party members. In all probability it would take till March to have a winner,” one said.
Even if such an option were to be taken seriously, it was pointed out that the contest would present a poisoned chalice to the eventual winner.
“Anybody harbouring leadership ambitions would be naïve to take the risk of suffering a heavy defeat at the polls a few weeks after taking up his or her new tenure.”
Such a scenario means that many in the party a bracing themselves for a very bumpy ride at least until next May when the elections are held.
Editorial note:
This newspaper published the fact that Dr Delia is under investigation after reliably verifying information that it had received. It does not take political agendas into consideration when it makes decisions on the timing of stories.