[WATCH] Franco Debono will not contest PN leadership election

After a number of days teasing with a possible candidature for the PN leadership, Franco Debono rules out entering the race

7 August 2020, 4:35pm
by Staff Reporter

1 min read

Franco Debono will not be running for PN leader

Franco Debono has ruled running for leader of the Nationalist Party, insisting it is “not the right time” to contest for any roles within the party.

The former PN MP’s declaration on Friday ended expectations he had been raising over the past week when he posted messages of encouragement he received from admirers.

In comments to MaltaToday on Monday, Debono had said that he was “listening attentively to the people”.

But Debono quashed those expectations today by posting a short video message on his Facebook page, accompanied by the results of a survey he commissioned, in which he ruled out contesting for the post.

The survey asked people for their thoughts on Debono’s re-entry into the PN’s structures, whether he should contest the leadership race and how he compared with Adrian Delia and Therese Comodini Cachia.

The results show that 42.9% of respondents said that he should contest the leadership. When asked who they preferred as PN leader (from Delia, Debono and Comodini Cachia), 28.9% said Debono, 28% said Delia and Comodini Cachia got 16.7%.

The PN race is likely to be a straight run-off between Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech after Roberta Metsola, Therese Comodini Cachia and Mark Anthony Sammut ruled themselves out.