In that election, Busuttil contested the 11th and 12th Electoral Districts in the 2017 Maltese general election as the leader of the Nationalist party. However, on 4 June 2017, after polls on the previous day, it was clear that the Malta Labour Party had won by a 55% margin. The win was historic as the Labour party won the election by a record margin, and the margin was seen to be even bigger than in the 2013 Maltese general election. Many reasons were attributed for the result, including the fact that the economy was experiencing record growth under Joseph Muscat while at the same time the PN gave little reason for being elected other than a good governance pledge, which even that was not considered authentic because of the corruption scandals that rocked the party back during their time in government. Busuttil conceded defeat and the following day announced his resignation as leader of the Nationalist Party along with the entire party administration. He met party activists on 6 June 2017 and explained that although he would be leaving, the party should "never give up" in its principled fight for the rule of law. He also announced a new and more open procedure for electing the new leader, with all party members being able to vote to elect their leader for the first time.