Adrian Delia has officially submitted his bid to return as Nationalist Party leader as he cast his nomination at PN headquarters on Saturday. He walked into the Pieta quarters at around 10.15am, telling reporters he would be giving comments shortly. Delia previously served as leader for three years until he was ousted in 2020 after losing the support of a majority of his parliamentary group. He was replaced by Bernard Grech, who stepped down earlier this month. Should the 55-year-old lawyer successfully contest the leadership, it would make him the first politician to return to the position in the party鈥檚 history. Applications to lead the PN opened last Sunday and close Sunday at 2pm. So far, only Delia and Gozitan MP Alex Borg have announced their intention to run. Earlier this week, Delia told Times of Malta he was submitting his bid out of a 鈥渟ense of responsibility and loyalty to my party and my country鈥, while stressing he has evolved since leaving the leadership role in 2020. Nationalist Party MPs have so far remained guarded in their comments on the leadership race, with most saying they will back whoever is elected leader. Delia entered politics in 2017 and became PN leader that same year. His three-year leadership was defined by internal rifts, culminating in an open rebellion by 17 MPs calling for his removal. Since his first stint as leader, Delia has rebuilt support within the party, particularly through his role in the Vitals court case, where he led a long legal battle that ultimately annulled the 鈥渇raudulent鈥 hospital’s privatisation deal. Speaking outside parliament Tuesday, Delia told journalists his job if elected was 鈥渘ot to kick people out, but to bring in many people we need,鈥 when asked if he would seek to remove MPs responsible for his earlier downfall 鈥 such as Karol Aquilina and Beppe Fenech Adami. Writing in Times of Malta on Saturday, the PN MP and Shadow Health Minister described the country as being at a 鈥渢ransformative juncture鈥, with global shifts in digital innovation and social values requiring 鈥渢houghtful reflection and deliberate action鈥. While Borg has said his campaign against Delia will be a 鈥減ositive鈥 one, describing it as 鈥渁 race between friends鈥, only time will see how the election will be fought; PN insiders have described the pair鈥檚 relationship as turning bitter in recent weeks following Borg鈥檚 surprise announcement to run for leader. Party sources told Times of Malta that Borg, 29, had previously agreed to take a step back and endorse Delia’s campaign, leading to claims of betrayal from the latter鈥檚 camp. One canvasser for Delia described Borg as 鈥渙ne of the biggest liars鈥 following his announcement to run. Insiders in Borg’s camp claim the opposite, however, insisting the Gozitan MP had indicated his intention to run before last weekend, with Delia giving the impression he would support him. In public, however, the two 鈥 both considered to represent the party鈥檚 more conservative wing 鈥 have appeared to downplay any rift. In a survey leaked to Times of Malta last week, 27.5% of respondents wanted Borg for leader, with former leader Adrian Delia registering 19.3% of preferences and former PN MP Franco Debono scoring 8.8%. Almost 43% of all respondents, however, did not express a preference.