Debono dispels claims of exorbitant PN salary, says he raised same amount in donations

Jean Pierre Debono, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia’s chief political advisor, has pushed back against claims that he is being paid an excessively high salary by the party, as he continues to face calls for his resignation.

Debono was rumoured to earn upwards of €40,000, a figure he has now said is nowhere near his actual salary.

“Let one thing be clear, so that nobody thinks I have anything to hide. My salary from the PN every month is as is indicated below,” Debono said in a Facebook post uploaded on Tuesday.

“If one does some calculations they would realise that in one marathon that was held a few months ago, my wife [MP Kristy Debono] and I together collected for the PN almost as much as I make in the whole year. Considerably less than the €50,000, €70,000 or €100,000 that some individuals are citing.”

Debono said that he also dedicated a considerable amount of time without limit or condition. He added that there were others in the party that like him, worked many hours for a similar salary.

The latest controversy erupted in the aftermath of a vote in the PN’s executive committee last Saturday, which chose Debono to replace Gozo MP David Stellini in parliament. But Debono was yesterday forced to state that he would not be taking up the seat after it transpired that at least two people who voted on Saturday were not eligible to do so.

Debono, who was elected to parliament in 2017, but who subsequently resigned his seat to make way for party leader Adrian Delia, beat Gozitan local councillor Kevin Cutajar by 42 votes to 40.

In a letter to Delia yesterday, Debono said he had decided not to take up his seat in parliament because it was clear that “the same group of people” that had refused to accept Delia’s election were now engaged in a ruthless campaign to attack and discredit him personally.