Busuttil favours a non-parliamentarian for the job of PN secretary general

PN leader Simon Busuttil is keeping his cards close to his chest about who should be the next PN secretary general but he has a preference for a nominee from outside the parliamentary group. 

Busuttil also envisages that the commercial side and administration of the party will be assigned fully to a chief executive officer, to allow the secretary general to have more of a political role. 

At present the post of CEO is taken up by Brian St John. 

Busuttil’s preference for an outsider for secretary general could mean that the interest being shown by three main contenders – David Agius, Clyde Puli and now Marthese Portelli – may well come short, a senior PN insider has informed MaltaToday.  

The vacancy for a secretary general arose after Giovanna Debono’s resignation from the PN parliamentary group, followed by Simon Busuttil’s announcement that Chris Said, also a Gozitan, would be resigning the secretary general post to concentrate his mind on regaining the considerable electoral ground lost to the Labour Party. 

PN insiders informed MaltaToday that Said and Busuttil had already discussed this prospect when the scandal and news story about ‘work for votes’ involving Giovanna Debono’s husband had first surfaced in MaltaToday.

According to the PN statute the post of secretary general must be filled from the ranks of the executive committee.  Last Friday there were 42 nominations for the 18 representatives – nine women and nine men – who need to be elected.  Members of parliament, and the European parliamentarians, are also automatically represented on the executive committee.

The executive committee will be elected on 22 May and will then vote for a new secretary general some days later.

There was no end to rumours about who the next secretary general could be, but most parliamentarians shared Busuttil’s view that the secretary general should not be any one of the party’s 29 MPs.

At one point, the name of MEP David Casa was being bandied around with the party faithful. But the Europarliamentarian is not supported by all the group.

Another parliamentarian with excellent organisational abilities and considered a realistic candidate is MP Robert Cutajar, one of Lawrence Gonzi’s most trusted former aides.

The list of outsiders who have been nominated to the executive and who could easily fit into the role of secretary general include Siggiewi mayor Karol Aquilina, AZAD chief Dr David Griscti and Birzebbugia councillor Hermann Schiavone.  

MP Paula Mifsud Bonnici is set to remain PN General Council president as she was the only candidate to throw her name in the hat. 

The female candidates vying for the nine posts reserved for women are; Amanda Abela, Jacqueline Azzopardi, Tiffany Bonavia, Barbara Buttigieg, Rita Desira, Rita Dimech Portelli, Christabelle Ebejer, Ann Fenech, Caroline Galea, Graziella Galea, Denise Martin, Veronica Perici Calascione, Stefania Pirotta, Sandra Smart Costantino, Rosette Thake, Isabel Vella, Evelyn Vella Brincat, Francesca Zammit. 

The male candidates are; Karol Aquilina, David Battistino, Johann Borg, Alexis Callus, Raymond Caruana, Neville Cassar, Malcolm Custò, Jean Pierre Debono, Trevor Degiorgio, Justin Fenech, David Griscti, Joseph Mercieca, Robert Micallef, Edward Mizzi, Kevin Mizzi, Martin Musumeci, Alex Perici Calascione, Stefano Persiano, Mark Anthony Sammut, Justin Schembri, Hermann Schiavone, Marco Spiteri, Alban Thika, Stefano Zammit.