PN leadership eyes Darren Carabott for deputy role

Darren Carabott is being encouraged by Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg to contest the new deputy leadership post that will be created, MaltaToday has learnt. 

Borg proposed the idea to Carabott during a meeting in which shadow portfolios were also discussed, sources close to the party told this newspaper. 

The PN leader has pledged to recreate the post of deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, which would require an MP to fulfil the role. 

“Alex Borg wants to strengthen the image of a youthful party and Darren Carabott not only fits that bill but is also a moderate and has shown ability to communicate,” the sources said. 

It is unclear whether Carabott has accepted the offer and when contacted by MaltaToday he was noncommittal, insisting the post had not yet been created. 

“I will give it a thought when and if it is eventually created but my priority right now is to ensure the PN organises itself better to be an alternative government,” he said. 

However, Carabott added: “I will be at the party’s and the country’s service wherever I am needed.” 

This last comment could be interpreted as a hint that he is interested in the offer but it is also the standard reply MPs generally give when asked about their political ambitions. 

Carabott, 31, is a lawyer by profession and was elected for the first time to parliament in the 2022 general election from the 1st District. He scored the second highest number of votes among PN candidates, obtaining 2,503 votes on the first count, just 50 votes shy from district veteran Mario de Marco. 

In parliament he chairs the Public Accounts Committee and is also a member of the National Audit Office Accounts Committee. 

The post of deputy leader parliamentary affairs requires a change in the PN statute, something Borg has promised he will push for in the coming weeks. 

Last week, Adrian Delia, who narrowly lost the leadership to Borg, effectively ruled out becoming deputy leader, adding he was not interested in contesting another internal election. 

The post of deputy leader for party affairs is occupied by Alex Perici Calascione, who is likely to stay on and provide the leadership team with experience. 

But the party sources also said the offer to Carabott was part of a wider discussion Borg was having with his MPs to determine what portfolios they would be shadowing. 

“There have been several meetings between MPs and Alex Borg’s chief of staff, Damian Spiteri, so that the leadership can gauge the different strengths before assigning portfolios,” the sources said. 

More than three weeks after being elected leader, Borg had not reshuffled his shadow cabinet, leading to speculation that some were resisting his choices. The PN leader justified the delay saying he is no rush to carry out a reshuffle.