An emotional Bernard Grech has delivered his first message since triumphing at tonight’s PN leadership election.

“This didn’t happen for me but for the party and the country,” Grech told his campaign team, in a video that has been circulating on WhatsApp.

He praised the team who supported him throughout his election campaign, thanking them from the bottom of his heart and stating that it will keep on expanding for the sake of the Maltese public.

“You didn’t lose heart in me or sideline me when the knives came out for me. I’m not perfect, no one is perfect. However, people don’t want perfection; they want genuineness. They want us to care for them, to tell the truth and to realise what their needs are so that the PN can become their natural choice.”

In a Facebook post, he also thanked Adrian Delia, saying he is sure he has a part to play for the party moving forwards.

According to initial projections, Grech triumphed over Delia by a whopping 65% of the vote among the party’s paid-up members.