‘Team Adrian Delia’ makes its presence felt on the Fosos

Adrian Delia’s canvassers wore uniform dark blue polo shirts as they made their presence felt during the Nationalist Party’s Independence Day eve meeting on Monday evening.

The canvassers arrived on the Granaries in Floriana as a group and remained at the back of the crowd that was seated as part of COVID protocols.

Delia’s men and women wore blue polo shirts with the PN emblem emblazoned in white on the front and ‘Team Adrian Delia’ imprinted on the back. Among them was Vincent Borg, known as Ċensu l-Iswed, who served as chief security to Delia when he was PN leader.

At one point an elderly woman objected to their presence and the fact that they wore shirts with Delia’s name on them. She was told off rudely and asked to “go and enjoy the last few days of her life”.

The incident lasted a few seconds but the presence of Delia’s canvassers wearing distinctive uniforms was a stark reminder of the former leader’s grip on a section of Nationalist supporters.

It was also reminiscent of the scars the PN still carries from the internal divisions of the past years.

When PN leader Bernard Grech was introduced to get on stage, Delia's supporters remained seated and did not clap.

Delia was elected leader in 2017 but his leadership was constantly challenged internally until an election among party members saw him lose the race to Bernard Grech last year.

Delia is still an MP and will be contesting the next election on the 8th District and another undisclosed district.