Bernard Grech steps down after five years at PN helm

Bernard Grech has announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition and head of the Nationalist Party (PN).

“A change in leadership will be the right step so the party can move forward in the right direction,” Dr Grech said in a televised statement on Tuesday (today).

Dr Grech affirmed that he will hold the position until a suitable person is elected in his place. A meeting of the Executive Council of the Nationalist Party has been called for Wednesday 11th June (tomorrow), to immediately begin the formal process of appointing a new Leader in accordance with the Party’s statute.

“On a personal level, in the last five years I have experienced a lot of beautiful emotions but also difficult moments. The biggest satisfaction I have is when we were able to help someone, and all the times we gave someone hope,” he wrote on his social channel. 

His leadership faced a significant test during the 2022 general elections, as the Labour Party claimed a landslide victory with 162,707 votes, representing 55.1 per cent of the electorate.

The PN, and Dr Grech, received some respite in last year’s elections for European Parliament and Local Councils, with the Party obtaining a positive result that saw the gap narrow significantly.

However, the PN was unable to build on that result, with subsequent polls showing that the gap between the two parties continued to grow, with trust in Dr Grech’s leadership plummeting to record lows.

A MaltaToday survey published this week showed that the Labour Party is widening its gap over the Nationalist Party from 24,000 votes in April to nearly 39,000 votes in June.