The contest for the post of Nationalist Party secretary general could very well amount to a contest between Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier and party information officer Jean Pierre Debono, unless a dark horse emerges with a nomination for the post by Friday. Nominations for the PN’s secretary general post opened yesterday amid wide speculation as to who would be throwing in their lot with the hope of being chosen as outgoing secretary general Joe Saliba’s successor.
With the nomination period remaining open until Friday 20 June – one week before the holding of the 27 June election – no one as of yesterday had yet been officially nominated.
Of those thought to have been interested in running for the post, only Dr Borg Olivier and Mr Debono have confirmed their intentions – although the latter is still undecided as to which administrative post he will be contesting come 27 June.
Another potential contender, lawyer Karol Aquilina, said yesterday when contacted that he was unable to comment on the matter for the time being.
With speculation currently rife, a number of names for the PN’s top post have been floated, but only Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier has as yet officially declared, at the party’s last general council, that he would be standing for the post of secretary general.
Contacted yesterday, Jean Pierre Debono confirmed he had been approached to run for secretary general but that he not yet decided on the opportunity.
“I am keeping my options open and am considering all possibilities at this point,” he commented.
Whatever the case, Mr Debono added he would definitely be submitting a nomination for one of the posts on offer at the end of the month – if not for secretary general, then for one of the administrative positions opening up. He said his nomination would be submitted on 20 June.
Current Nationalist European parliamentarian Simon Busuttil, who had been tipped for the post from the outset of speculation, had declined advances from Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Mr Saliba, citing family ties in Brussels.
Similarly, another of the first names coming to the fore in the early speculative stages, that of Pierre Portelli, had also discounted himself from the race.
That Joe Saliba was to have stepped down in the wake of the 8 March general election has been a foregone conclusion, with Mr Saliba having stated on a number of occasions prior to the polls that he would be doing so irrespective of the result.
The party’s rules stipulate that, in order to run in the election, a candidate needs to form part of the national executive council and be nominated by at least two council members.
The elected members of the PN executive council are: Jean Pierre Debono, Paul Borg Olivier, Karol Aquilina, Pierre Portelli, Henri Darmanin, Paula Mifsud Bonnici, Peter Darmanin, James Cauchi, Malcolm Mifsud, Marthese Portelli, Trevor de Giorgio, Caroline Galea and Janice Chetcuti.
The council also includes MPs, and representatives of the various sections of the party.
In addition to the election of a new secretary general, who would be tasked with steering the party through the next five years toward what the party hopes would be a fourth consecutive general election victory, a number of other key administrative posts will also be in the offing on 27 June.
These include the post of assistant secretary general, international secretary, treasurer, executive committee president and administration council president.