Pierre Portelli resigns post as Malta Independent content director

The Malta Independent’s content and business director Pierre Portelli has resigned from his post at the newspaper, and will also be resigning from his company’s director later this week, according to a report published in the same newspaper.

The resignation confirms the widely held belief that he would be newly-elected PN leader Adrian Delia’s preferred choice to take up the role of party secretary general, a post he has also been linked to in the past.   

Speaking on Xtra Sajf earlier in the week, Delia said he had encouraged Portelli – the Delia campaign's politics and media strategy advisor - to contest the post.  

According to the report in the Independent on Sunday, Portelli said he had not yet decided whether he would be pursuing a political career, stating that he was “still weighing his options” but that he was “seriously considering running for one of the top posts at the Nationalist Party”.

“Having observed Simon Busuttil in his role as leader of the PN, I was convinced that he was the ideal candidate to become Malta’s next Prime Minister. Unfortunately, the PN didn’t make it as the polls and Simon shouldered responsibility like the true gentleman he is,” Portelli is quoted saying.

“But the 2017 election forced me to realise that if I want to see my country taking the right direction based on honest and fair politics, I cannot achieve that result from the media trenches.”

Portelli said that he considered Delia to be the “best person to lead the PN and the Opposition” in turning changing the country’s direction.

“I will stand foursquare with him and help him unite the party in seeing that the PN is truly open to all those who believe in good governance, fair opportunity and open society,” insisted Portelli.

Delia has stated that he wanted all administrative posts within the PN to have been filled by the end of the year. So far, MEP David Casa was also quoted as saying he was “still considering” contesting the secretary general post.