Therese Comodini Cachia will not run for PN in next general election

A litnary of problems Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech keeps having to deal with keeps on growing. Now he faces the prospect of established candidates dropping off the party’s ticket.

MaltaToday is informed that Therese Comodini Cachia, a former MEP and now MP, will not be contesting the upcoming elections as a candidate on the Nationalist Party ticket. Sources said Comodini Cachia has already informed Grech and secretary-general Francis Zammit Dimech of her decision not to run.

She confirmed her intention not to run to The Times. “Partisan polarised parliamentary politics is not the best outfit for me to wear to be able to continue striving for a better place with a fairer community,” she said.

“In every role I have always sought justice and applied a social conscience. Whether it is seeking justice for persons who are victims of human rights violations, addressing a public inquiry into Malta’s most heinous assassination, addressing a party event or addressing parliament, I have continuously tried to do so with the utmost respect to the dignity of the persons involved and to the level of respect every institution deserves.”

Comodini Cachia, who serves as a lawyer for Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family said: “I will continue to do so without the constraints of partisan parliamentary politics. We do not all need to be members of parliament but we all need to contribute towards social justice and a better Malta.”

Comodini Cachia had been proposed as Opposition leader by rebel MPs in a vote of no confidence against Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia in 2020, but it was Grech who was ultimately chosen to challenge Delia in a leadership contest.

Originally slated to contest the eighth district, her decision not to run appears to have rattled many within the party administration.

Another question mark revolves around the candidacy of businessman Ivan J. Bartolo, who gave up his seat in the House so that newly-elected party leader Grech be co-opted as Opposition leader.

Bartolo told MaltaToday that information he will not be running in the next election for the PN was “not correct” but would still not confirm his intentions to contest. Sources said Bartolo had been confirmed as a candidate on the fourth and ninth districts but then withdrew at the beginning of this week.

Cannabis position

The PN has yet to declare itself on its position on legalising cannabis for recreational use, with Bernard Grech still not roping in all his MPs for a common position.

Party sources said Grech has attempted to win the group’s unanimous approval on supporting cannabis legalisation, three times.

During this week’s parliamentary group meeting, with only 15 MPs present, he once again called for unanimity but his efforts were thwarted MPs who absolutely refuse to budge on their stance against legalisation.

Some MPs have also argued for a free vote on cannabis legalisation.