Democratic Party (PD) MP Marlene Farrugia has emphasized PD’s loyalty to the principles of Forza Nazzjonali and questioned whether under the Leadership of Adrian Delia, the Nationalist Party (PN) still stands for the same principles that the coalition campaigning for good governance was built upon.

In response to an article by The Malta Independent on Sunday published yesterday, where PN Secretary General Clyde Puli claimed PD ‘did not show loyalty,’ Farrugia argued that PD has indeed been loyal to Forza Nazzjonali and what it stands for.

“What about DeliaPN? Does it still stand for what Forza Nazzjonali stood for?” she stated, speaking to this newspaper in reaction to the story.

Yesterday, The Malta Independent on Sunday reported that Nationalist Party Sectary General Clyde Puli deemed it unnecessary to consult with, or even to have informed, Forza Nazzjonali coalition partner Partit Demokratiku of the party’s decision to dissolve the uneasy partnership between the two parties that was entered into before the general election.

Contacted on Saturday, Puli told this newspaper, “Why should PD have been informed about the end of the coalition when they have shown us no loyalty whatsoever.”

Instead, Puli said the party deemed it more appropriate to notify PD in the formal manner through the presentation of a motion, which Puli himself did at Dar Centrali on Friday evening.

The motion, moved by Puli and seconded by all members of the party’s administration, refers to the agreement that had been reached between the PN and PD through which they presented a common list of candidates for the general election. The PN executive then unanimously approved the coalition’s dissolution.

Puli explained that, when the PN leadership campaign began, Farrugia’s scathing comments on then leadership hopeful Adrian Delia showed she had no loyalty to the coalition. In fact, Farrugia had gone as far as saying that she did not recognise Adrian Delia as the new PN leader.

“One day they’re sitting next to us at a press conference, the next day they’re speaking against us, there’s just no loyalty. After all, the Nationalist Party ended up losing two seats to them, which were mostly Nationalist votes, because we had allowed them to share a platform with us in the run-up to the general election,” Puli stated.

Marlene Farrugia says ‘DeliaPN’ was ‘never part of coalition’

In a Facebook post shortly after the news of the dissolution, Farrugia questioned the place of the Nationalist Party under the leadership of Adrian Delia within the coalition, stating ‘DeliaPN was never a part of it’.

“DeliaPN’s executive does not realize that Forza Nazzjonali is a mindset,” she wrote. “A mindset that is thriving and growing by the day, while DeliaPN is shrinking and hemorrhaging by the hour.” 

“Forza Nazzjonali lives on. DeliaPN was never a part of it, but PN was and is,” she stated.

Yesterday, The Times of Malta reported that PN Councillor Michael Briguglio, one of the people leading the Forza Nazzjonali alongside Marlene Farrugia, blamed Farrugia for the dissolution of the coalition, labeling her politics as ‘politics of narcissism’. “You cannot be for good governance and assume that your opinion is greater than the democratic process,” he said

In a reply, Farrugia went on to further question the role of the leadership of Adrian Delia within the coalition. “Now let us assume that Delia’s election was fair and square and due diligence had been carried out etc,” she wrote, “how can we serve in a coalition where the leader of the biggest coalition partner, denigrated, and incited hatred against an investigative journalist, who did her job and questioned his credibility, requesting him time and time again to clear his name?” she asked.

She also questioned Delia’s stance on leave for same-sex couples getting IVF treatment and the view on the Majjistral Park.

“How can we serve in a coalition where our biggest partner, DeliaPN, is failing the environmental justice every single day by its silence, and will not protect Majjistral Park from unwarranted abuse in its first test in Parliament?” she asked.

Within the post, Farrugia accused Briguglio of ‘riding the gravy train’, to which he retaliated in a tweet on social media, saying “No, Marlene Farrugia, I am not after a 'gravy train'. Had I been so sad I would have made other choices. I have dignity.”