PN secretary says €32 million debt figure represented media debt too

The Nationalist Party’s secretary general Charles Bonello has insisted that the €32 million debt figure cited by Bernard Grech in 2022 is still correct, despite the party’s recently presented accounts presenting liabilities of €11 million. 

Interviewed on TVM’s Xtra, Bonello said the €32 million represents debts emerging also from the party’s media wing, which presents its accounts separately. He said the party is under no obligation to present the debts of its media wing as its own, despite being the ultimate owner of the company.

Bonello said the PN is in the same boat as the Labour Party, except the latter benefits from favourable coverage on the state broadcaster as well as its own media station. The PN only has one media station in its favour, he said. 

On party financing, Bonello said it is time to gather round the table and find a solution. He said the two parties rely on two main sources of income: donations and voluntary work.

“We are not financed by anyone, including the state,” he said. 

He insisted that any reform concerning party financing must be based on transparency.