Delia passes torch to Gozitan Alex Borg in emotional PN handover: ‘Grazzi lil kulħadd’

Adrian Delia congratulates Alex Borg on leadership win, thanks supporters: A new chapter for Malta’s Nationalist Party unfolds under Gozitan helm

By a show-of-hands vote that felt more village festa than party convention, Alex Borg clinched the leadership of the Nationalist Party (PN) yesterday evening at the party’s Ħamrun headquarters, bringing to a close one of the most hotly-contested internal races in recent memory. Moments after the result was announced, outgoing leader Adrian Delia stepped onto the same wooden stage where, four years ago, he himself had been hoisted shoulder-high by cheering tesserati. This time, he raised Borg’s arm in a gesture that instantly flashed across Times of Malta’s livestream and every family WhatsApp group from Siġġiewi to Xagħra.

“Grazzi lil kulħadd,” Delia began, slipping instinctively between Maltese and English in the cadence that Marsascala fishermen and Sliema lawyers alike recognise as authentic. “Tonight is not about endings; it is about continuity.” Behind him, red-and-blue flags—borrowed from the nearby St. Cajetan band club—rippled beside the eight-pointed cross, a reminder that the PN has always woven itself into the fabric of local festa culture. The crowd answered with a roar that rattled the glass doors of the adjacent pastizzeria, whose owner, 62-year-old Rita Camilleri, had kept the kafè flowing all afternoon “biex kulħadd ikollu enerġija”.

Borg’s victory carries extra resonance because he hails from Nadur, Gozo—a locality whose loyalty to the PN is as legendary as its festa fireworks are deafening. In the 1980s, when inter-island ferries still stopped running at dusk, Gozitan party activists would camp on the Valletta waterfront just to ensure they could cast a vote. Borg nodded to that heritage yesterday, dedicating his win “lil dawk li ħallew il-ġbejna u l-ħobż tal-ħobża ta’ fuq il-vapur” to fight for a cause bigger than themselves. The line drew thunderous applause, and even Delia cracked a smile; it was the kind of rhetorical flourish he himself once deployed to great effect.

Local political analysts see the handover as a rare moment of unity for a party that has spent years nursing factional bruises. “In Malta, politics is tribal, but it’s also familial,” observed University of Malta sociologist Dr Maria Bezzina. “Delia’s gracious concession, and Borg’s promise to ‘listen before I lead’, echo the village kunsill li jisma’ that our grandparents describe.” She noted that the PN’s core electorate—particularly older voters—still frame political loyalty in terms of parish allegiance and festa committees. By thanking “every committee member who hung a banner, every mother who sent her son to fetch a box of ballots,” Delia tapped into that sensibility.

The practical impact on communities is already visible. In Żebbuġ, the local PN club announced a free pastizzi morning this Sunday “biex naħbu l-għaqda”. Meanwhile, youth wing president Clara Pace revealed plans for a summer outreach programme on the beachfronts of St. Julian’s and Mellieħa, aiming to translate yesterday’s goodwill into tangible activism. “We’re swapping boardroom jargon for boat parties,” she laughed, only half-joking.

Tourism stakeholders are watching closely. PN mayors in Gozo have long championed eco-tourism routes that diverge from Malta’s high-rise density; Borg’s environmental credentials—he once spearheaded a campaign against noise pollution at Nadur’s festa—suggest these projects will gain traction. “If Gozo becomes the green jewel of the Mediterranean under PN stewardship, that’s a win for every Airbnb host and vineyard,” said Josephine Borg (no relation), owner of a boutique guesthouse in Xewkija.

Yet beneath the confetti lies a sobering reality: the PN remains in opposition, and the Labour Party’s grassroots machinery is famously well-oiled. Delia acknowledged as much, urging supporters to “turn today’s applause into tomorrow’s door-knocking.” As the crowd dispersed into Ħamrun’s narrow streets, the brass band of the local St. Joseph society struck up a jaunty march, its notes mingling with the scent of frying imqaret from a nearby kiosk. Malta’s political story, it seems, will always be written in the mingled smells of gunpowder and sugar, applause and argument.

For Alex Borg, the real test begins now. For Adrian Delia, the curtain falls on a turbulent but colourful chapter. And for Malta, the stage lights stay on—because in this country, politics isn’t just a spectator sport; it’s the village festa that never truly ends.