Updated 11.40pm

The accusations made by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia against PN leadership candidates Frank Portelli and Adrian Delia dominated a televised debate between the four contenders, with both denouncing the attacks on them and expressing solidarity with each other.

Dr Delia, who got the microphone first, went straight for the elephant in the room: the allegations that he had been paid considerable sums into a Jersey account some 14 years ago derived from prostitution in Soho.

Dr Delia also announced that he would publishing a declaration of his assets in the coming days, which would refute Ms Caruana Galizia’s accusations that his financial situation was precarious

He said that he had already been forced to sue for libel over what he called the ‘preposterous allegations’ and that he would be instituting another case.

He said that he was investigating the claims but that any clients he may have had bore no relevance to politics: “If you defend a criminal, does that mean you are a criminal? If you represent a client who is in dire financial straits, does that mean you are in dire straits? I never said that I do not hold accounts for third parties, but I do not have or had any personal accounts overseas.”

He invited her to meet in front of journalists and lay out all the documents at that same time to be able to thrash it all out.

Dr Delia also announced that he would publishing a declaration of his assets in the coming days, which would refute Ms Caruana Galizia’s accusations that his financial situation was precarious, not as a reaction to her but because he had heeded the feedback he had been given during his campaign.

Dr Portelli was also asked about his finances by journalists at the debate and said that his involvement with St Philip’s Hospital was as a shareholder, but that he had actually reduced its debts. He also stressed that the 10,000 sq.m. on which it sat represented assets worth three times its liabilities.

He later also jumped to the defence of Dr Delia to make the same point about his finances, saying banks would not lend to a project which was not viable.“This blogger will be dumped into the rubbish bin of history!” he said.

The contenders were asked about their vision for the party going forward, prompting them to refer to injustices against its supporters and how they should be handled. Alex Perici Calascione said that while it was important to seek the lost sheep, one should not forget their flock.

“In our attempt to do the right thing we may have been too prudish. It is wrong to be afraid to be perceived as doing favours for supporters. Some of the complaints were genuine. In such cases, we really need to look after them,” he said, while Dr Delia in his reply called for an end to the parties’ favouring their own supporters.
“We need to serve anyone who is Maltese,” Dr Delia said.

Dr Portelli reflected the same stand, saying that people should be given what was rightfully theirs, irrespective of their political affiliation.

He was challenged about his view on migrants, and denied that he was a xenophobe, insisting that most of the people he met during his campaign were concerned about migrants.

“Even the Sunday Times of London is saying that migration is the most serious threat in Europe. In Malta, there are 80,000 foreigners and we do not know how many are paying tax and NI. We need to have a census and any that are found to be causing problems would have to leave….

[Dr Portelli] denied that he was a xenophobe, insisting that most of the people he met during his campaign were concerned about migrants.

“I can assure you that eight out of every10 people I spoke to in St Paul’s Bay asked about migrants. In Marsa, they pee and defecate against our club’s door. They are everywhere. If I am a xenophobe, then so is the whole population. Almost all the crimes we hear about are foreigners. We either accept this problem or just keep calling me a xenophobe.”

Chris Said, who was the least under pressure of the candidates, said it was important to keep one step ahead of society so that the party could anticipate problems and prevent them. He said that the party needed to have a think-tank made up of representatives of various sections of society which would guide the party, working quietly in the wings.

This was the first of two planned debates before the September 2 election, with the second scheduled for next week.

Around 1,500 people will be voting, including members of Parliament, party candidates, local councillors, district members and representatives from the party’s sectional committees.

Two out of the four candidates will be chosen, who will pass on to the next round, the general party conference on September 16, at which party members will be voting.