Yesterday, during the Nationalist Party’s leadership debate between Alex Borg and Adrian Delia, what was mostly striking from the debate is that the leadership contenders are bringing in the Nationalist Party a renewed sense of enthusiasm to win the elections. This was much desperately needed in the Nationalist Party after consecutive election losses which left many of its members and activists demoralised.
I noticed that Alex Borg is a very good rhetorical speaker when he is speaking in monologue, but is very weak when he is debated by an opponent or scrutinised. Yesterday’s debate was very friendly and the contenders did not challenge each other: both of them vowed to support each other if they were elected leader.
Dione Borg, the host and moderator of the debate asked them questions about matters on which they were severely criticised. Alex Borg pledged to join protests organised by NGOs and refrained from criticising them as he usually does. Both Alex Borg and Adrian Delia pledged to involve as many Nationalists as possible and pledged to open up the party to more people. Both of them are against abortion and Alex Borg is even against euthanasia but pledged to give a free vote.
Still, even if Alex Borg proves to be a winning candidate and manages to lead the PN to victory in a general election, the problem remains that his vision for Malta and his style of politics are closely aligned with Labour’s populism. Combined with his right-wing views, he presents a potentially toxic alternative—one hardly worth fighting for
Although Alex Borg makes for a great speaker when addressing an audience on a podium, Adrian Delia seems to be a safer option, especially considering the fact that Alex Borg is new to politics and is also very young (he is just thirty years old). The prospect of having an inexperienced thirty year-old, who seems to be very fond of Labour’s policies, running the country during a crisis, doesn’t sound very enticing to put it mildly.
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